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Police have revealed why officers returned to the scene of Nicola Bulley\u2019s disappearance this week, and hit out at \u201cmisinformed speculation\u201d over the renewed presence of officers on the River Wyre.<\/p>\n
A Lancashire Constabulary diving team was recently seen in the water downstream from where police believe Ms Bulley, 45, went into the river in St Michael\u2019s on Wyre on 27 January.<\/p>\n
In a brief clip uploaded to YouTube by passerby Maria Solarz, the team can be seen wading in the water close to the bench where Ms Bulley\u2019s phone and dog were found on the morning of her disappearance.<\/p>\n
The divers returned to the site six weeks after the dog walker\u2019s body was found in the water following a huge search operation which took officers out to Morecambe Bay. Lancashire Constabulary said in a statement: \u201cWe can confirm we are carrying out some work on the direction of HM Coroner.\u201d<\/p>\n
But on Friday the force issued a new statement, criticising \u201cspeculation\u201d around the case and revealing why they had returned. <\/p>\n
A spokesperson said: \u201cThere has been misinformed speculation over the past few days relating to police activity in the River Wyre.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs previously stated, police divers were acting under instruction of HM Senior Coroner and had been asked to assess the riverbanks in the vicinity of where Nicola Bulley went missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had not been tasked either to perform any further searches within the river or along the banks or to locate any articles. This activity is to assist with the coronial process.\u201d<\/p>\n
HM Senior Coroner, Dr James Adeley, said: \u201cSpeculation as to the role and purpose of Officers acting on my instructions is unhelpful in the resolution of this inquest.\u201d<\/p>\n
An inquest into Ms Bulley\u2018s death is to be held on 26 June. Dr Adeley said at an inquest opener that surgeon Andrew Ian Edwards had examined Ms Bulley\u2019s dental records and that evidence gathered by police and the post-mortem examination required \u201cfurther evaluation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms Bulley, a mother-of-two who worked as a mortgage adviser, was last seen walking her dog along the River Wyre after dropping her daughters at school nearby.<\/p>\n
Her mobile phone was found a bench near the riverbank, still connected to a Microsoft Teams work call, with her dog Willow left running loose.<\/p>\n
A huge police operation ensued as the search for Ms Bulley drew intense national attention, before police eventually announced that a body had been discovered among reeds and undergrowth in the River Wyre on 19 February.<\/p>\n
During the search, officers urged the public against speculating online over how Ms Bulley might have gone missing.<\/p>\n
More follows on this breaking news story…<\/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 Police have revealed why officers returned to the scene of Nicola Bulley\u2019s disappearance this week, and hit out at \u201cmisinformed speculation\u201d over the renewed presence of officers on the River Wyre. A Lancashire Constabulary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n