19 February 2023 , 23:14
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Nicola Bulley's family have gathered together tonight "to stay strong" as they wait for police to formally identify a body recovered in the river where the mum-of-two went missing.
The 45-year-old mortgage adviser vanished in St Michael's on Wyre while walking her dog after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27.
Lancashire Police discovered a body in the river on Sunday morning, less than a mile downstream from where Ms Bulley was last seen, following a tip-off from two dog walkers.
Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but the mortgage adviser's family have been informed.
As Ms Bulley's partner, two daughters, mum, dad and sister awaited the news, they came together and said: "We have to be strong."
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Ms Bulley with her partner Paul Ansell
The mortgage adviser disappeared in St Michael's on Wyre (strava)Sky News correspondent Inzamam Rashid said he had been in contact with Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, via text.
He wrote in a message: "No words right now, just agony."
"We're all together, we have to be strong", Mr Ansell added.
The search for Ms Bulley has captivated the entire nation, and attracted widespread speculation as well as criticism of the police response.
Ms Bulley's sister and parents in a TV interviewOn Sunday, a police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a body in the river at around 11.35am.
"An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body," a statement said.
"No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
"Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
A police diving team at the River Wyre on Sunday (PA)"Nicola's family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected."
A man and a woman walking their dog discovered the body and called police, it is understood.
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A photographer at the scene told the Mirror: "It all happened so fast. Police have sealed all the roads off. It's fair to say a massive search is underway."
A coroner's van leaving the scene (Dave Nelson)The body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
Police had earlier erected a tent and cordoned off the lane while police divers were called in, but the road was reopened around three hours later once the body was recovered by officers.
The area attracted press interest and members of the public including one woman who told reporters she was a clairvoyant and had "picked up" an area of the river on Saturday night.
Members of the public reported seeing a body in the river on Sunday (CHRIS NEILL)The police diving team could be seen conducting the search while a police drone and helicopter flew above.
Underwater search expert Peter Faulding, who was called in by Ms Bulley's family to help find her, found no trace of her in the section of river searched by his team and police divers over three days.
On Sunday, Mr Faulding wrote: "Our thoughts are with Nicola’s family and friends at this difficult time."
Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the developments as "heartbreaking and distressing".
An infographic showing Ms Bulley's last known movements (Press Association Images)She tweeted: "These are heart-breaking and distressing developments. My thoughts remain with Nicola's family at this extremely difficult time."
Police came under fire after making Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and peri-menopause public three weeks after she vanished.
In a press conference on Wednesday, they revealed the mother-of-two was classed as a "high-risk" missing person immediately after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance, "based on a number of specific vulnerabilities".
Police search teams at the scene on Sunday (davenelsonpix@gmail.com)They later added in a statement that Ms Bulley, from Inskip in Lancashire, had stopped taking her HRT medication.
A public backlash and interventions from the Government and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper followed, with Lancashire Constabulary confirming a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation.
A spokeswoman said: "A review of the investigation is diarised and will be conducted by our head of crime detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables."