What happened to Nicola Bulley?
We examine the facts about what happened when Lancashire mum Nicola Bulley went missing
Last updated 19th Jan 2024
Nicola Bulley went missing in January 2023, and in the weeks that followed, it was a case that gripped the UK.
After her disappearance, a major operation was launched to try and find her, including house-to-house enquiries, appeals for dashcam footage, and special dive teams searching the river close to where she was last seen.
The level of public interest in the case grew to such a scale, particularly on platforms like TikTok, that police were forced to issue a warning to those seeking to distract from the investigation.
The police were also criticised during the case, for releasing personal information about Nicola.
We've looked back at the disappearance and piece together what happened:
Three weeks after Nicola disappeared, her body was found in the River Wyre.
A coroner ruled she died by accidental drowning.
When did Nicola Bulley disappear?
Nicola was last seen at 9.10am on 27th January 2023 in her home village of St Michael's on the Wyre.
She's dropped her children at school at 8.43am, and sent an email to her boss at 8.53am.
She logged into a work call at 9.01am, but when it ended at 9.30am she remained logged in.
Five minutes later, her phone and her pet dog were found on a bench next to the RIver Wyre, but Nicola had disappeared.
What happened after Nicola Bulley disappeared?
Nicola was reported missing at 11am on January 27th.
Once her missing status was confirmed, the Police, Fire & Rescue and Pennine Mountain Rescue began their operation to find her.
Around a week after her disappearance, an independent dive team start began their search of the River Wyre, but still Nicola was not found.
The search was extended out to the river estuary, nine miles downstream, but again, rescue teams found nothing.
A timeline of Nicola Bulley's last known movements has been released by Lancashire Police:
8.43am: Ms Bulley walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school.
Around 8.50am: A dogwalker who knows Ms Bulley saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path.
8.53am: Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss.
9.01am: She logged into a Teams call.
Around 9.10am: Somebody who knows Ms Bulley saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Lancashire Police say they are trying to establish exactly what time this was.
9.30am: The Teams call ended but Ms Bulley stayed logged on.
Around 9.35am: Her mobile phone and dog were found at a bench by the river by another dogwalker.
On the 19th February, Nicola's body was found approximately a mile from where her phone and dog were found.
How did the media respond to Nicola Bulley's disappearance?
Nicola Bulley's disappearance made headlines around the world.
The story of a mum, daughter and partner who had gone missing without trace received coverage around the globe.
Journalists from across the UK and beyond arrived in St Michael's on Wyre to cover the search operation.
Despite requests to be left in peace, some media outlets approached close connections to Nicola, while other residents felt the media interest had become too intrusive during a difficult time for the family and St Michael's as a whole.
Tik Tok 'investigates' the Nicola Bulley disappearance
During the search, Police warned of "totally unacceptable speculation and abuse on social media" as wild allegations and false accusations were made about people linked to Nicola and the investigation.
As the search continued, some social media users descended on St Michael's to carry out their own searches.
Some trespassed into private gardens, or illegally broke into buildings as part of their "search".
Officers would later say the speculation, and wave of amateur investigators had distracted from the real investigation "significantly" and had been "shocking and hurtful to the family."
Police criticised over Nicola Bulley information
As part of the investigation, Police revealed personal details about Nicola that were classed as "individual vulnerabilities" which made her a "high risk" missing person.
Officers said the information was released to try and end some of the speculation about the case.
Lancashire Police faced criticism for releasing the information, with people questioning why it needed to be in the public realm, or why it wasn't released sooner, if it was critical to her being found safe.
Then Home Secretary Suella Braverman raised these concerns with the Constabulary and was "not wholly satisfied by some of the responses I got".
Coroner's verdict
In June 2022, a coroner ruled Nicola Bulley died by accidental drowning.
The hearing heard evidence related to Nicola's last know whereabouts and information taken from her Fitbit watch.
It also heard from witnesses who had heard a shout coming from the river at the time of Nicola's disappearance.
The coroner was told the river in late January would have been approximately 4C and would have felt "almost freezing" and would have quickly led to cold-water shock for anyone entering the water.
Speaking after the verdict was announced, the family paid tribute to Nicola, but again referenced the social media intrusion and "wildly inaccurate" speculation that had made a difficult time even worse.