'CRIED THEIR EYES OUT'
Missing Nicola Bulley’s young daughters broke down in tears as distraught dad told them ‘Mummy’s lost’
THE two young daughters of a missing woman broke down in tears as their distraught dad told them: “Mummy’s lost.”
Nicola Bulley, 45, vanished on Friday morning while walking her dog.
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Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell, 44, had to tell kids Harriet, nine, and Sophia, six, at the weekend.
Her mum Dorothy revealed: “He just said, ‘Mummy’s lost’.”
Paul’s dad David said: “They cried their eyes out.”
Yesterday police spoke to a key witness as the emergency services combed the area near the River Wyre in Lancashire.
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A pal of Nicola spoke for her two heartbroken daughters and said: “We just want her home.”
Emma White added: “We’ve got two little girls wanting their mummy, so if anyone has any information please just come forward.”
She said Nicola’s partner Paul was “being as strong as possible” for the children.
Nicola disappeared after dropping her kids at school on Friday morning and then taking her dog for a walk along a riverbank.
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The Sun told yesterday how her phone — connected to a work call — and pet were found near the water in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancs.
The search for the 45-year-old mum entered its sixth day today — hours after police spoke to a potential key witness.
An unoccupied house has also been searched near to where she vanished.
Yesterday cops leading the missing person appeal said they were “especially keen” to speak to a man aged around 70 who was in the area at the time Nicola vanished.
Less than two hours after the appeal was issued, cops said the man — described as 6ft, well-built and walking a small white fluffy dog on a lead — had come forward and offered assistance.
Police stressed they were keeping an “open mind” about Nicola’s disappearance.
They added that they did not believe she had been attacked and had no evidence of foul play.
Officers have mounted extensive searches using a force helicopter, drones and dogs, along with support from 25 members of the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue, the Lancashire fire service and the Coastguard.
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Family and friends have also been combing the area for clues.
Pal Heather Gibbons said: “We want to hold on to the hope that no news is good news.
“With Nikki, we just know that if she could be at home with her girls, we very firmly believe that is where she would be.”
Nicola’s mum Dorothy, 72, told how Paul broke the worrying news to their daughters at the weekend.
She said: “It’s just awful.
“Paul had to tell the girls what was going on.
“He just told them, ‘Mummy’s lost’. It’s heartbreaking.”
Paul’s dad David, 72, said Nicola’s disappearance had left the whole family devastated.
He added: “It’s a terrible situation, we just hope and pray that something good comes out of it.
“The children have been told, ‘Mummy’s missing’, but they haven’t been told the full details.
“When they were told, they absolutely cried their eyes out.”
David, of Hambleton, Lancs, added: “It’s devastating, unbelievable.
“She is a great mum and a great daughter-in-law.
“From what I know, she dropped the kids at school, took the dog for a walk and took a call and disappeared.”
He added that the family were not aware of any other information relating to her disappearance.
During her walk, mortgage adviser Nicola dialled into a work conference call at 9.01am but had muted the sound and camera.
A friend who runs a local caravan park raised the alarm when they spotted the family’s brown springer spaniel Willow running free.
The pet was near to a bench under a tree, which has a sign warning of deep water nailed to it.
The friend contacted the school and staff called engineer Paul, who dialled 999. Cops arrived at the scene around 10.30am and found Nicola’s mobile phone on the bench with her work call still active, along with Willow’s leash.
The dog was not wet, ruling out any suggestion it may have entered the River Wyre, which eventually flows out into the sea near Fleetwood 13 miles away.
When asked if Nicola was a strong swimmer, father-in-law David said: “I believe so, yes.”
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Paul — who met Nicola in a pub and has been with her for 12 years — spent the weekend searching for her with family and friends
The pair share a £330,000 detached home in Inskip.
Nicola’s brother-in-law Stephen Cunningham — married to her sister Louise — said: “The whole family are struggling to understand what’s happened and worried beyond words.”
Friends of Nicola organised volunteer search parties in conjunction with Lancashire Police in the hope of finding their friend.
Nicola had previously been married to businessman Simon Booth.
He is now the partner of Coronation Street star Jodie Prenger, who plays Glenda Shuttleworth in the ITV1 soap.
When contacted at his home in Pilling on the Lancashire coast, Mr Booth said he did not want to comment out of respect for Nicola’s parents, adding that he not seen his former wife for 12 years.
In a statement, Nicola’s family said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support from our community and would like to thank everyone for their ongoing efforts to help us find Nicola.
“The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news on Nicola.
“We ask for anyone who thinks they may have any information that may help the police find Nicola to please come forward and help them with their inquiries.”
Supt Sally Riley said: “We remain extremely concerned for Nicola and we continue to do everything we can to try to find her and to provide some answers for her family, who are obviously beside themselves with worry.
Nicola is 5ft 3ins, with light brown shoulder-length hair and speaks with an Essex accent.
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She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive-green ankle wellies. Her hair was in a ponytail.
Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings please call 999.
VILLAGE STUNNED
NICOLA Bulley vanished from a spot on the banks of the River Wyre popular with dog walkers and anglers.
Just a five-minute stroll from the centre of hamlet St Michael’s on Wyre, it is a well-trodden path for locals — making her disappearance all the more baffling.
Shop assistant Jackie Wilson, 60, walks her dog most days on the path and says she regularly bumped into Nicola or her partner Paul.
She said: “It’s a very popular place for dog walkers. I knew Nikki to say hello to. I would see either her or Paul. We said ‘hi’ and spoke about our dogs because they were similar. Her going missing has rocked the community.”
Another dog walker, who asked not to be named, said she lives close to the path and would have heard any commotion or screaming.
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