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Missing dog walker Nicola Bulley had \u201cspecific vulnerabilities\u201d, Lancashire Police confirmed in a press conference.<\/p>\n
In a press conference, senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said Ms Bulley was graded as a \u201chigh-risk\u201d missing person when she was reported missing on 27 January.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as she was reported missing, following the information that was provided to the police by her partner Paul, and based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that we were made aware of, Nicola was graded as high-risk. That is normal in a missing person investigation with the information we were in possession of,\u201d Smith said: <\/p>\n
Lancashire Police refused to elaborate on what the \u201cspecific vulnerabilities\u201d were but confirmed they were made aware of them after speaking to Nicola\u2019s partner, Paul Ansell.<\/p>\n
Nicola Bulley was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27 (Family handout\/PA)<\/p>\n
(PA Media)<\/p>\n
When applied to adults who are at risk, specific vulnerabilities can refer to mental ill health, substance misuse or isolation, according to the College of Policing.<\/p>\n
It can also relate to committing or assisting in the commission of crimes because it is known the person may be easier to groom, manipulate and threaten, and as a victim, they may be less likely to report their experience.<\/p>\n
It is not clear which, if any, of those elements may relate to Ms Bulley.<\/p>\n
It remains the police\u2019s \u201cmain working hypothesis\u201d that the mother of two fell into the River Wyre. They reiterated on Wednesday that there was no evidence of any third-party involvement in the case.<\/p>\n
Ms Bulley, 45, was last seen while walking her dog Willow on a footpath next to the River Wyre on Friday 27 January.<\/p>\n
But friends and family have questioned this theory, with Mr Ansell saying he is \u201c100 per cent convinced\u201d she is not in the water.<\/p>\n
Diving expert Peter Faulding, who was called in to use sonar technology to search the river, has also disputed the theory.<\/p>\n
Police activity near the bench by the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, where the mobile phone was found as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley<\/p>\n
(PA)<\/p>\n
He told MailOnline that if Ms Bulley had fallen down the bank she would have been easily able to stand up and wait for help rather than be swept away by the current. <\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIf she slipped down the bank she wouldn\u2019t go far. The rocks would hold her in place and she\u2019d only have been waist deep. She could have stood there and asked for help because people do walk by.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police said they were keeping an open mind about where Ms Bulley could be and was continuing to carry out a huge number of enquiries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines email Missing dog walker Nicola Bulley had \u201cspecific vulnerabilities\u201d, Lancashire Police confirmed in a press conference. In a press conference, senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said Ms Bulley was graded as a \u201chigh-risk\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n