Heartbreaking final image of Nicola Bulley taken just before she went missing
At her inquest, pictures showed the final moment Nicola Bulley was captured on camera on the morning she died. The mum-of-two was seen on the family's Ring cam before she took her children to school on the morning of January 27.
Seen wearing a long black coat, leggings and ankle boots and with her hair tied in a ponytail, Nicola - known to loved ones as Nikki - was seen getting in the car on what would have otherwise been a routine morning.
Shortly later, the 45-year-old disappeared while on a work call as she took the family dog for a walk along the River Wyre in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire.
Final images of Nicola Bulley before she went missing on the morning of January 27 (PA)Her disappearance sparked a three-week manhunt before her body was found further down the river on February 19, which was ultimately ruled an accident. It's now understood the mum fell into the water and tragically died shortly after 9.18am.
During the two-day case it was heard concerned partner Paul Ansell sent her a message asking, "have you got lost?" after failing to hear from her during the walk. Despite previous struggles, the court heard she had been "full of beans" in the weeks before she disappeared, with coroner Dr James Adeley accepting she was not suicidal at the time.
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
Nikki died of drowning, Preston County Hall heard. Following senior coroner Dr Adeley's verdict, Nikki's family released a statement describing her as a "brilliant mum and partner" who was "loved so very much".
The statement, released by Hudgells Solicitors, also revealed the family continued to be targeted by vile messages and speculation from people online. "The last few months have been extremely tough to process for our family," they said in the statement read outside the coroners court.
Nicola Bulley (PA)"The emotional impact will stay long in our hearts and whilst we will never forget the loss of our Nikki, we will forever remember her as a brilliant mum, partner, daughter and sister that we all knew and loved so very much.
"The help and support we have received over these past few months has meant more than words can say. From family and friends to complete strangers across the country and the world, thank you."
The family added: "Nikki and Paul's girls have already taken great comfort in the deeply thoughtful gifts sent to them in goodwill and in time they will read the many cards that are filled with such kindness and love.
"Sadly, we feel the need to again raise and address the issue of social media. It's upsetting that we've continued to receive negative targeted messages and still wildly inaccurate speculation being shared on numerous platforms."
A damning report into the Nicola Bulley investigation has since found that police "lost control" of the story as social media sleuths hijacked the story and spread false rumours online.
At the height of the hunt for Nicola, 45, there were 6,500 news stories published around the world about her in one day with TikTok videos amassing more than 270 million views. Negative social media comments on Lancashire Police's pages surged by more than 450 per cent.
And now a new report by the College of Policing (COP), published today, has found that staff in the force press office struggled to cope with the unprecedented interest in the case on social media.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
