04 February 2023 , 17:56
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Police have reportedly started examining missing mum Nicola Bulley’s Fitbit data in hopes of finding her.
The mum-of-two vanished in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, last Friday, January 27, after dropping her kids at school, when walking the family dog.
Since then, there has been no trace of the mum, as loved ones grow increasingly alarmed for her safety.
Yesterday, police said their “main working hypothesis” was that the mum had sadly fallen into the icy river.
But her family contested that, and Nicola’s sister urged the public to keep an “open mind” as her desperate family pleaded for any info that could help them locate her.
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The mum-of-two has been missing for eight days now (strava)
Police have said their working hypothesis is that the mum fell into the river (strava)Her friend, Emma White, told The Sun that police were now working to extract data from her Fitbit; one of the items of clothing police said the mum had been wearing.
Emma said: “The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday.
"The police are trying other ways to try to get information from it.”
This comes as officers confirmed yesterday they were carrying out “other digital enquiries” alongside combing through CCTV footage, dashcams, and more.
But when first asked about the Fitbit, officers said they have “no info” to share on it.
Police officers have conducted a huge search along the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre (PA)Speaking to Sky News, Emma also pushed back on the police’s hypothesis, saying Nicola no longer took a tennis ball on her walks.
She said: "Willow used to love a tennis ball very much, but it used to disturb their walks, so they haven’t had a tennis ball since way into last year.
"Obviously she loved the tennis ball so she’d always be by you, pestering you for the ball - but it wasn’t a nice walk when the dog’s pestering - so there was definitely no ball.
"When we’re talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis - surely we need this factual evidence.
"That’s what the family and us are all holding onto - that we’re actually no further on the sadly last Friday.
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Family have contested the police's latest theory but there has been no sign of the mum in over a week (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)"We still have no evidence and that’s why we’re out again in force."
On January 27, the 45-year-old dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, off at school before taking Willow, the family dog, on a walk.
The mortgage advisor, from nearby Inskip, walked along a path beside the river shortly before 9am.
Another dog walker who knew her, spotted Nicola around 8.50am, and then three minutes later, the mum sent an email to her boss before logging onto a work call at 9.01am.
A second witness saw Nicola at 9.10am, the last confirmed sighting of her, and by 9.30am the work call ended but Nicola’s phone stayed connected.
Approximately five minutes later, another dog walker found her phone, on a bench by the river with Willow off her leash.
It is that brief window that police are desperately investigating to try and figure out what happened to the mum.
Following the latest police update, Nicola’s sister Louise Cunningham took to social media and said: "Off the back of the latest police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it's just a theory.
"Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over."