Nicola Bulley cops investigate local fishing club as member reveals they’ve been in touch asking questions
COPS searching for Nicola Bulley are investigating a local fishing club, as a member reveals they've been in touch asking questions.
The 45-year-old disappeared without a trace while on a dog walk along the River Wyre in the village of St Michael's, Lancs, on January 27.
It emerged today that officers have only just approached the local fishing club in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancs to find out who was on the riverbank that day.
The Sun told on Monday how a witness saw two men with fishing rods acting suspiciously on Nicola’s dog-walking route.
Officers are finding out how many, if any, fishermen were issued with tickets to be on the river.
It raises disturbing questions over whether even the basic checks were done during the hours in the wake of Nicola’s disappearance.
A fisherman said: “I heard the police were asking about day-ticket sales, what stretches of water the club owns and leases, how many members were fishing that day.
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“Sounds like they are trying to work out if anyone was fishing on the river that day and saw something, but nobody was.
“The only people by the river that day were dog walkers.”
He said officers had contacted him a day after Nicola vanished but only to ask how deep the water was where she was last seen.
Sources said cops were wedded to the theory that Nicola fell into the river and drowned and refused to consider third-party involvement.
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The angling club has stopped fishing on the river since the disappearance as a mark of respect.
Anglers will only be allowed to buy tickets again after the police have finished their search.
Police contacted the fishing club just hours after The Sun revealed two men carrying rods were seen acting suspiciously close to where Nicola was last seen.
A witness told how the pair were trying to hide their faces, adding: "It was very strange. It made me uneasy.
"They could have been normal fishermen — and if I had seen their faces I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it.
“But I remembered they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd.
“It wasn’t particularly cold that day. It was quite mild, so their behaviour, to me, seemed strange.
“You do get poachers on the river, and they don’t want to be seen. Obviously at that moment a woman hadn’t gone missing so I didn’t think anything more of it.”
The following day, the witness said he was driving through the village again and spotted one of the two men, this time closer to the bridge.
The witness, who did not want to be named, contacted police but claimed they took nine days to get back to him and take his statement.
On Monday police were seen combing a caravan park for clues.
Diving teams were also exploring a new section of river.
Lancashire Police declined to comment last night.
Cops are also trawling through security camera footage from the area and trying to trace the owner of a shabby-looking red van spotted outside a barn on the morning Nicola vanished.
Tree surgeon Denis Rowlandson, 47, said of the vehicle: "I don’t know anybody with a red van who should be parked outside that barn or near the entrance.
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"There’s no reason to be there at all without my permission.";
And officers are said to be compiling a list of all registered sex offenders in the area as is protocol, according to a former Scotland Yard detective.