Missing Nicola Bulley's ‘significant issues with alcohol' caused 'real challenges' for family, cops say
INSKIP, LANCASHIRE: Missing dog walker and the mom of two, Nicola Bulley has faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with menopause”, police have revealed. These struggles had resurfaced over recent months and caused "some real challenges" for Paul and the family.
The 45-year-old mortgage adviser went missing on 27 January during a riverside dog walk in St Michael's on Wyre before dropping her children at school. Her phone which was connected to the team's meeting was found on the bench. Wilom the dog was also found near without a harness.
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'We talked about vulnerabilities'
The "main working hypothesis" that the mortgage adviser had gone to the river during a "10-minute window" between 09:10 am and 09:20 am that day was first stated by Lancashire Police on February 3. Since then, detectives have expanded their search to include the sea route because they believe there is more possibility of finding her there.
"It's really unusual for us to go into this level of detail about someone’s private life, but we felt it was important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation," the Lancashire Police said in a statement following the press conference.
This caused some real challenges for the family
"Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months. This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family," the News Release stated.
It also mentioned that as a result of these issues, "a response car staffed by both police and health professionals attended a report of concern for welfare at Nicola’s home address on January 10th." However, "No one has been arrested in relation to this incident, but it is being investigated." They further said, "We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
Although Nicola Bylley's partner, Paul Ansell, claimed that he was 100 percent sure that Nicola did not fall into the water. But police are still claiming that there was no criminal angle involved in her missing case. In the Press latest press conference, Det Supt Smith said, "Their main theory was still that Bulley had 'unfortunately gone in the river'. However, she said she could not be '100% certain of that at the minute' as it was a 'live investigation' and there was 'always information coming in'. She said other hypotheses remained in place and were 'reviewed regularly', BBC reported.