Nicola Bulley still missing: Everything we know about the case so far, three weeks later

It has now been three weeks since mum-of-two Nicola Bulley vanished while walking her dog in a small Lancashire village. And despite an exhaustive search and thousands of pieces of evidence analysed by police, no major clue that could hold the answers to what happened to the 45-year-old has been found.

Nicola disappeared on the morning of Friday, January 27 as she walked her dog by the River Wyre in the village of St Michael’s after dropping off her two young daughters at the nearby primary school. Police have maintained  their “main working hypothesis” is that she fell in the river, but specialist underwater diving teams found no trace of her after scouring the water despite the search being extended all the way out to sea.

At a press conference on Wednesday (February 15), Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who is leading the investigation, said police wanted to find Nicola “as much as anyone else in this country”. She added her priority was securing answers for Nicola’s desperate family, especially her little girls who “just want their mummy home”.

Asked if she was confident Nicola would be found alive after three weeks, she replied: “I want Nicola to be found alive with all my heart, more than anything”. But she added that the “likelihood is that Nicola fell in the river”.

The Nicola Bulley case is so baffling that it has gripped the nation, attracting media attention from all over the UK along with who police have described as “private detectives from TikTok” descending on the scene. Police say they have been “inundated with misinformation, speculation and rumour” that is “distracting” officers and is “hurtful” to Nicola’s family, hindering the investigation.

Here’s everything we know about the case so far including Nicola’s last movements, evidence presented and “myths” that police say they are keen to dispel.

What happened on January 27 - Nicola Bulley’s last known movements and full timeline of events

• 8.26am: Nicola left home with her two daughters, who are aged six and nine 
• 8.49am: She dropped off her children at St Michael’s Primary School, and spent a few minutes chatting to people in the school yard
• 8.43am: Nicola set off along a path by the River Wyre in the village of St Michael’s with her dog, Willow. 
• 8.47am: A dog walker who knows Nicola saw her walking Willow around the lower field - their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path 
• 8.53am: Nicola sent an email to her boss, and six minutes later sent a message to her friend to arrange a playdate for her children
• 9:01am: Nicola logged onto a work conference call via Microsoft team - she was on mute and had her camera off 
• 9.10am: A witness, who also knows Nicola saw her on the upper field with Willow - the dog was off its lead and not in its harness. This is the last confirmed sighting of her.
• 9.20am: Police believe this was the moment Nicola’s phone was laid on a bench by the river
• 9.30am: The conference call Nicola’s phone was connected to ends, but she stays logged on
• 9.33am: Nicola’s phone was found on a bench by another dog walker who did not know her. Willow was also found running loose between the bench and a gate to the field. The dog’s harness was found on the grass between the bench and the river bank 
• 10.50am: Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell and the school her children attends are alerted to the situation 

All the evidence presented in the Nicola Bulley case so far

Phone, Fitbit and social media