NICOLA Bulley's heartbroken family wept today as they said her children "need her home".
The mum-of-two was last seen on Friday morning in St Michael’s in Wyre, Lancashire.
Her family broke down today as they spoke of their agony following Nicola's disappearance.
Sister Louise Cunningham told Sky News: "If I'm being honest, it feels like I'm just stuck in a nightmare.
"We're going round and round in circles trying to piece together what could have possibly happened.
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"It's like she's just vanished into thin air. We just want her home, we need her home, her children need her home. It's absolutely heartbreaking."
Nicola's dad Ernie Bulley, 73, said the police and local community have been "brilliant" but said the family "just want her back".
He added: "This has just emptied our lives at the minute, we just feel so empty."
Ernie also appealed to the public to "search their minds for anything they might have seen".
And he spoke directly to his daughter as he urged: "If Nicola is out there and she's watching this - come home, contact the police.
"We just want you back."
It comes after police today confirmed they had tracked down a woman seen in a CCTV image they wanted to speak to.
Officers also released a timeline of the missing mum's final movements before she disappeared.
Nicola, 45, began her walk along the towpath to the River Wyre at 8.43am after dropping her two children off at school.
Police say around seven minutes later, a dog walker who knows Nicola saw her walking around the lower field with her springer spaniel Willow.
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The witness said their two dogs interacted briefly before she left Nicola via the river path.
At 8.53am, the mum said an email to her boss at Exclusively Mortgages.
She then logged into a Teams call at 9.01am and was seen around nine minutes later on the upper field walking Willow.
Police say at 9.30am, the work call ended but Nicola stayed logged on.
At around 9.35am, the mobile and Willow were found at a bench by the river but there was no sign of Nicola.
Police today cordoned off a footpath that leads to a bench where Nicola's phone was found still connected to the work call.
Her springer spaniel Willow was also discovered looking "agitated" in the area with her harness off.
The search for Nicola appears to have ramped up as specialist teams focus on a stretch of river just feet from the bench.
Divers have been seen entering the water where the mum was last seen walking along the towpath.
Helicopters, sniffer dogs and drones are also being used to assist with the search.
Lancashire Police confirmed today they are “keeping a really open mind about what could have happened”.
Supt Sally Riley said: “We know that Nicola going missing has caused a great deal of concern for the wider local community, as well as obviously being an awful time for her family.
“This remains a missing person inquiry and at this time there is nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in Nicola’s disappearance.
“I appreciate that there are unanswered questions about what has happened to Nicola, but I would urge people not to speculate or spread false rumours. We will share updates when we can, but we must be factual.
“Nicola’s family are being kept up to date with events and are being supported by officers.
“We are really grateful for the community’s help and co-operation so far, but I’d like to stress again parts of the riverbank are treacherous, especially after the recent rain, and we would ask that nobody puts themselves in danger and that the police and partner agencies’ efforts to find Nicola are not compromised."
Nicola is local to the area and regularly shared images of her walks with Willow along the river on app Strava.
Her last post on November 7 shows her walking her along the bank in the same route she is understood to have been on when she vanished.
Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair
She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies with her hair in a ponytail.
Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.
Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27.
