Dog walker reveals moment he found Nicola Bulley’s phone on bench the day she vanished
A DOG walker has revealed the moment he found Nicola Bulley's phone on the bench the day she vanished.
The man, who has only been named as Ron, recalled that morning three weeks ago and the feeling that something "wasn't right".
Ron said he was walking his dog - as he did most mornings - when he came across the mum-of-two's phone.
He said when he flashed the wallpaper up, a photo of Nicola appeared - with her partner, and the father of her children, Paul Ansell.
And while Ron admitted he didn't know their names - he knew them as dog Willow's owners.
The dog walker told : "I'd seen both owners of Willow walking this dog in the past, but while I knew them by face, I didn't know their names."
Read more on Nicola Bulley
Ron said when he first found the phone he thought "somebody had gone to the toilet".
While being interviewed in the area Nicola vanished from, he continued: "I got to about this red brick building here and I thought 'this is not right'.
"Then it was just a progression of things happening, you know.
"Because of the wallpaper on the phone we found out who the couple were, and the school was contacted and Paul arrived."
Ron said he gave a full statement to police after finding Nicola's phone on a bench in the park at around 9.30am on Friday January 27.
Reflecting on the three weeks since Nicola's disappearance, Ron said: "Each day something new comes out, doesn't it."
Today marked three weeks since Nicola was last seen, and her dad Ernie opened up - revealing "every day is a struggle".
The heartbroken father has said he is just waiting for "a breakthrough".
POLICE BACKLASH
It comes as cops searching for Nicola were ordered to explain to the Home Secretary why they revealed her personal battles with alcohol and the menopause.
demanded answers from Police after being “concerned” by the shock disclosures.
A source close to the Home Secretary said that she "outlined her concerns" to Chief Constable Chris Rowley.
Lancashire Police confirmed on Wednesday that Nicola was treated as a high risk missing person when she disappeared.
Officers revealed she had “vulnerabilities” - including “significant issues with alcohol” in the past that were brought on by her “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
They also divulged they had been sent to Nicola's home on January 10 following a report of a concern for welfare.
The force has now come under fire for releasing the personal information and are facing an Independent Office for Police Conduct probe.
They will also be investigated by Information Commissioner John Edwards and could face a fine if the disclosures breached data protection laws.
"I’m pleased the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation. Obviously my thoughts are with Nicola's friends and family and the focus must now be on continuing to try to find her."
Meanwhile, former Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird said that she felt the police made a "dreadful" error in disclosing the personal information.
Dame Vera explained: "I’m afraid this is the biggest error that I have seen for quite a long time.
"It’s going to just, very sadly, undermine trust in the police yet further. I’m sure they would have explained themselves if they had an explanation . . . if it was relevant, it needed to be in a public domain at the start and it wasn’t.
"I mean, that is a really worrying error. It is frankly dreadful."
However, the family broke their silence yesterday and put out a statement revealing they had allowed the police to share such personal information.
They issued a statement from police - begging for the public to "focus on finding her".
'COME HOME'
Today her sister begged her to come home.
Her sister Louise Cunningham today marked the heartbreaking three-week milestone with a poignant plea.
She wrote on Facebook: "Three weeks today without you home.
"We all miss you so much, time to come home now".
Louise shared the post alongside an image of her, Nicola and their mum Dot.
Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3in tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair.
She was last seen wearing an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket with a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat underneath and black tight-fitting jeans.
She had long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit on.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.
Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27, or ring 999 for immediate sightings.