‘People don’t just vanish into thin air’: Missing Nicola’s heartbroken family break down in tears and say ‘they’re stuck in a nightmare’ in emotional appeal – as police identify ‘woman in red’ seen in CCTV near to where mother-of-two disappeared
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Nicola Bulley’s heartbroken family broke down in tears today as they pleaded for help to trace her, saying: ‘People don’t just vanish into thin air.’ The mother of two, 45, was last seen walking her spaniel Willow at about 9:15am last Friday along the River Wyre in Lancashire while dialed into a business call. Police are continuing to scour the riverbank today, with divers searching the water.
This afternoon, the mortgage adviser’s sister, Louise Cunningham (pictured left), joined a family appeal to urge anyone who may have any information about her disappearance to come forward. ‘Something has got to have been missed. Somebody must know something. People don’t just vanish into thin air,’ she told Sky News.
‘There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn’t seem right, then please reach out to the police. Get in touch and get my sister back.’ Lancashire Constabulary released a CCTV image of a woman (pictured) in a red coat walking a white dog, who is believed to have been in St Michael’s on Wyre when Ms Bulley disappeared on January 27. In an update, the force said she has been identified.
Miss Cunningham said her family felt they were ‘stuck in a nightmare.’ ‘We’re going round in circles to piece together what happened. We’ve got to keep an open mind,’ she told ITV News. ‘We have no idea where she is. There’s no evidence to point us in any direction. My hope is that she’s still out there. We just want her home. Her children need her home. It’s heartbreaking. We’re such a close knit family, we’d do anything for any one of us. Somebody must know something, people don’t just vanish. If there’s anything you might have seen, please get in touch with the police.’
Miss Bulley’s father, Ernest (pictured right), 73, said: ‘This has emptied our lives. We appreciate everything everyone is doing to find her. It’s given us hope that someone might find something. There’s two young children that want their mummy back. If Nicola is out there, just come home – contact the police or ourselves. The kids know their mum is coming home, they’re thinking everyone’s looking for her – so it’s only a matter of time.’ Beginning to cry, he continued: ‘Don’t, it’s hard… we’re such a close knit family. We’re a close knit family, we’d do anything for any one of us and the children would do the same for us. We’re getting on in life, and the grandchildren, and our own children, are more and more important to us as we’re getting older. So, yeah, I just hope she comes home.’
He said that his family hoped their interview would ‘spark a light’ that would lead to finding Ms Bulley. Specialist teams from the police and other emergency services continue to search the area near the River Wyre including divers and underwater drones. Officers are combing the riverbed near the bench on which Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found and where her dog was later retrieved by a local resident.
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