he partner of missing mother of two Nicholas Bully has said he is “100 percent convinced” that she is not in a river near where she disappeared.
In conversation with presenter of 5 News Dan Walkersaid Paul Ansell that the family went through an “unprecedented hell” but would never give up hope of finding her.
Ms Bulley, 45, disappeared two weeks ago while walking her willow dog beside the River Wyre.
Police believe she fell into the river, but despite extensive research in the river and surrounding area, they have no evidence to support this theory.
Channel 5’s Dan Walker with Paul Ansell
/ Channel 5During an emotional interview with Mr. Walker said Mr. Ansell: “For me personally, this is just my opinion, I am 100 percent convinced that it is not the river.
“People don’t just disappear into thin air. It’s impossible. So something happened. Something happened. Find out what it is.
“Find out what it is. My plea is personal now: I want every house, every garage, every outbuilding, the land scrutinized.
“I want everything scrutinized, I want it all scrutinized, and I just beg them to just bring everything, everything, no matter how small, to the front because that could be the key to getting her find.
“As a family, we don’t worry about anything else. We just want to find her.’
Mrs. Bulley had dropped off her six and nine-year-old daughters at school and was walking when she disappeared. Her phone – still connected to a call for her job as a mortgage broker – was found on a bench overlooking the river.
Despite a massive search of the river and surrounding countryside by Lancashire Police, no trace of her has been found.
Mr Ansell said: “Nikki would never give up on us. She wouldn’t give up on anyone. And we will never give up on her, we are going to find her.
“There must be a way to find out what happened. You can’t, you can’t run your dog through a river and just disappear into thin air. Something happened that day, something…”
The police have discounted foul play and are treating the incident as a missing person investigation, believing Mrs Bulley to have fallen into the water.
Lancashire Police issued a statement on Friday saying they are “open minded” about Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
The focus of the police investigation on Thursday shifted from St Michael’s to about 10 miles downstream, where the river meets the sea at Morecambe Bay, with police patrol boats and lifeboats spotted on the river and in the bay.
Speaking of his children, Mr. Ansell continued: “All, all I can do is tell them everyone is looking for Mum.
“The best people in the world are looking for Mummy — just to give them that level of hope that they can understand that anything that can be done to find Mummy is being done.”
When asked how he feels about the situation, Mr. Ansell added: “Anger, a lot of frustration, confusion, disbelief, surrealism, nothing feels real.”
He continued, “It just doesn’t feel real… I feel like I’m on the Truman show. I do believe I could wake up at any moment… how are we still in this? We are good people.”
Vanished: What Happened To Nicola Bulley?, from ITN Productions, airs Friday at 9pm on Channel 5.
Mrs. Bulley’s friends made a new plea on Friday for “critical” dash cam footage from the area where she went missing on January 27.
Her friend Emma White told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the mystery surrounding what happened to her boyfriend is “frustrating” and the search “like torture”.
She said: “It is two weeks today. The local community is coming out to raise that profile. We’re trying to refresh someone’s memory.
Residents in the area have received a letter requesting information, and Ms White made a specific plea to witnesses and dashcam footage from Garstang Road, just outside the village, around the time Ms Bulley went missing.
Friends and concerned locals were seen on Friday holding signs along the side of the village in a desperate bid for more information.
Lancashire Police believe Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre while walking her Springer Spaniel Willow.
Police have ruled out foul play and are treating the incident as a missing persons investigation, but police say they are still “open-minded” and asking for information.
Police have shifted the search to where the River Wyre meets the Irish Sea at Morecambe Bay.
Officers have also been seen sweeping the water at Knott End-on-Sea, about 10 miles from where the mortgage broker’s phone was found in a bank, still connected to a work call.
Ms Bulley’s family enlisted the help of Peter Faulding, a rescue and forensic search specialist, but no trace was found after a three-day search earlier this week.