Specialist divers called in to help with Nicola Bulley search
Sonar equipment is being used to inspect the River Wyre, which Lancashire Police think she fell into
Last updated 6th Feb 2023
Specialist divers with a private company have been called in by Lancashire Police to help find missing mum-of-two, Nicola Bulley.
Sonar equipment will be used to inspect a river, which Lancashire Police think she fell into.
The 45-year-old hasn't been seen for ten days after going missing in St Michael's on Wyre.
Divers have already been in the river - mountain rescue, sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters have all been involved in the search too, but there's still no sign of Nicola.
The team of divers from Specialist Group International are joining the search today (6 February).
Peter Faulding says he hopes the police will benefit from their specialist help.
"They're doing the best that they can with the resources that they've actually got, but when you've got someone who has just disappeared into thin air, out of the blue, in a very remote location, it's very difficult for the police.
"Each year we deal with a lot of drownings and we locate them extremely quickly.
"The difference with this sonar is it's very high frequency, it's about ÂŁ55,000.
It scans the river and I can see every stick and stone laying on the river bed and we've got a very high hit-rate with this."
Lancashire Police believe Nicola went missing in a '10-minute window' on 27 January while walking her dog Willow after dropping off her daughters at school.
She had logged into a Microsoft Teams call at 9:01am, which ended at 9:30am with her phone still connected.
The last known sighting of Nicola was at 9:10am - her mobile phone was found on a bench overlooking the river at 9:35am by a dog walker, with Willow nearby.
Meanwhile, a woman described as a 'key witness' by police has come forward.
The force said on Saturday that they wanted to trace a person near where the dog walker went missing.