January 27
At 8:26 a.m., Mrs. Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine, and dropped them off at school.
Then, at 8:43 a.m., she took her spaniel, Willow, for a walk along the path beside the River Wyre, heading for a gate and a bench in the lower field.
She was seen around 8:50 a.m. by a dog walker who knew her, and their pets interacted briefly before parting ways, according to police.
At 8:53 a.m. Ms. Bulley sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later, before joining a Microsoft Teams call at 9:01 a.m.
She was seen by a second witness at 9:10 a.m., the last known sighting.
Her phone was back near the couch at 9:20am before the Teams call ended 10 minutes later, while her mobile remained logged in after the call.
At 10:50 am, Mrs Bulley’s family and the school where her children attended were notified of her disappearance.
Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts on the same day and appealed to witnesses to contact them.
January 28
Lancashire Constabulary deployed police drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs as part of the massive missing persons operation.
They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall at 10:30am on Sunday to organize a search for Ms Bulley, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people took part.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as ‘extremely dangerous’ and saying activities in these areas posed ‘a real risk to the public’.
January 30
Chief Inspector Sally Riley of Lancashire Constabulary said police were ‘very open to what could have happened’ and they did not consider Ms Bulley’s disappearance suspicious.
31 January Lancashire Constabulary spoke to a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fuzzy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Mrs Bulley’s disappearance.
Her family released a statement saying they were “overwhelmed with the support” in their community, and that her daughters were “desperate to get their mama home safely.”
February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke to a second witness they identified with the help of the public using CCTV, but they told police they had no further information to support their investigation.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers searched the River Wyre. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bulley’s family appealed to the public to help track her down.
February 3
Lancashire Police said it was working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.
Ms Riley pressed against speculation but said it was ‘possible’ that a ‘problem’ with Ms Bulley’s dog had led her to the water’s edge.
February 4
Lancashire Police announced they wanted to track down a ‘key witness’ who was seen pushing a pushchair near where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.
February 5
The woman described by the police as a ‘key witness’ came forward. Police insisted she was “treated very much as a witness” as it warned of “totally unacceptable” speculation and abuse on social media.
Peter Faulding, leader of underwater survey specialists Specialist Group International (SGI), began searching the river after being summoned by Ms Bulley’s family.
February 6
Ms Bulley’s friends said they hoped the help of a specialist underwater rescue team would provide the family with answers.
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s partner, Mr Ansell, said in a statement released by Lancashire Police: ‘It has now been 10 days since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who desperately miss their mummy and need her back .
“This has been such a difficult time, especially for the girls, but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community, and I want to thank them for their love and support.”
Feb. 10
Police urged people to refrain from commenting and conspiracy theories about Ms Bulley’s disappearance as speculation mounts online.
15 February
Police held a press conference on the case and said the mother-of-two was classified as a ‘high-risk’ missing person immediately after she was reported missing due to ‘vulnerabilities’.
They later revealed Mrs. Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause.
February 16
In a statement released by Lancashire Police, Ms Bulley’s family said the focus was “diverted from finding Nikki, and more on speculation and rumor in her private life” and called for an end to it.
Lancashire Police referred to the police watchdog because of the contact the police had with Ms Bulley prior to her disappearance.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanded an ‘explanation’ for the police’s disclosure of Ms Bulley’s private details.
February 17
Lancashire Police announced it was carrying out an internal inquiry into the handling of Ms Bulley’s disappearance and the Information Commissioner said he would ask police questions about the revelation.
February 18
Ms Braverman met with police chiefs to discuss the handling of the investigation after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed “concern” over the revelation.
February 19
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, appearing on the morning broadcast, described the police revelation as ‘shocking’, while Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who also wrote to police about the handling of the case, reiterated her concerns about the ‘ unusual’ level of private life. publicly disclosed information about Ms. Bulley.
A new search was launched less than a mile from where Mrs. Bulley disappeared.
Later on Sunday, Lancashire Police announced they had found a body in the River Wyre.