Nicola Bulley: Where was a body found in search for missing mother?

Bulley's body was found in February in the River Wyre in Lancashire

Video footage shared online shows police divers back at the scene where Nicola Bulley's body was found. (YouTube/MariaSolarz)
Video footage shared online shows police divers back at the scene where Nicola Bulley's body was found. (YouTube/MariaSolarz)

Divers have returned to the stretch of river where missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley was found, six weeks after her body was recovered.

Video footage shared online shows specialist police searching the water next to a weir that was close to where the 45-year old disappeared in January.

Bulley's body was discovered in February in the River Wyre in Lancashire following an extensive hunt when she disappeared after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on 27 January.

Watch: Body found in search for missing mother Nicola Bulley

Now police have reportedly returned to the scene on the instruction of the Lancashire coroner to help establish how she died.

In footage posted on YouTube, divers can be seen wading through the water next to the weir.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "We can confirm we are carrying out some work on the direction of HM Coroner."

(PA)
Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing more than three weeks ago. (PA)
A police diving team at the River Wyre near St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, 45, who was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog nearby, on a footpath along the River Wyre, after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. Picture date: Sunday February 19, 2023.
A police diving team at the River Wyre near St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, after a body was found. (Alamy)

Bulley's body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side.

The police diving team could be seen conducting the search while a police drone and helicopter flew above.

Underwater search expert Peter Faulding, who was called in by Bulley’s family to help find her, had found no trace of her in the section of river searched by his team and police divers over three days, despite her being discovered so close to where she disappeared.

He has since reportedly been removed from the National Crime Agency's (NCA) list of experts.

After his team's search, Faulding had said he was "convinced" that Bulley did not fall in the river.

Police activity at the River Wyre near St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, near to where a body was found in the River Wyre close to where Nicola Bulley went missing, Lancashire. Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog nearby, on a footpath along the River Wyre, after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. Picture date: Sunday February 19, 2023.
Police at the River Wyre near St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, near where a body was found. (Alamy)
A map showing where a body was found in the river close to where Nicola Bulley went missing. (PA)
A map showing where a body was found in the river close to where Nicola Bulley went missing. (PA)

During the hunt for Bulley, police revealed that she had suffered "significant issues with alcohol" in the past which had resurfaced amid her "struggles with the menopause".

The following day, Faulding criticised police for not telling his team that Bulley was considered "high risk" as soon as the missing person case was launched.

Had he known this, the CEO of Specialist Group International said he would have changed the "whole search strategy" of his team of private divers, who tried using sonar technology to find the missing mother.

The sun rises over the River Wyre as the search continues for missing Nicola Bulley in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire. February 06 2023.
The River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, where Nicola Bulley went missing. (SWNS)

Lancashire Police had said it was working on the hypothesis that Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre, but her friends and family disputed this.

Lancashire Police's handling of the case was widely criticised, with home secretary Suella Braverman demanding an explanation as to why it had revealed details about Bulley's mental health and struggles with alcohol.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt described the disclosure as "shocking" and said Braverman was right to raise concerns.

She went on to tell the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: "I think it really does grate with a lot of women and we have to put up with all kinds of sexist behaviour in all kinds of settings.

"And I think to have it play out in this kind of environment is why people are so upset."

Read more: Journalist sparks backlash over 'shameful' comments about Nicola Bulley detective

Police officers walk as they continue to search River Wyre for Nicola Bulley who is currently missing in Lancashire, Britain February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Lancashire Police has faced criticism over its handling of the disappearance of Nicola Bulley. (Reuters)

The force has referred itself to the independent police watchdog over contact it had with Bulley prior to her disappearance.

Earlier, Bulley's family had said speculation about her private life, including her struggles with the menopause, had become a distraction from efforts to find her.

Their distress was compounded by TikTokers and internet sleuths wading into the case with their own theories, one of whom was arrested and fined for posting videos from the search area.

Watch: Rishi Sunak concerned that private information about Nicola Bulley was released