'She was the center of our world': Mom-of-two Nicola Bulley's family devastated as cops identify her body
INSKIP, LANCASHIRE: Police have confirmed the identity of the body found during the search for the missing mother-of-two as Nicola Bulley. She was last seen walking on a footpath by the River Wyre in St.Michael, Lancashire, and went missing on Friday, January 27.
After an intense search operation was carried out by the police for three weeks, her body was recovered on Sunday, February 19, from the river where she went missing. The Lancashire Police has formally identified and confirmed that the recovered body is Bulley's, reported Sky News.
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'She was the centre of our world'
Bulley's family is devastated following the formal identification of the body recovered from the spot where the 45-year-old mother-of-two went missing. During a news conference, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson stated, "Today's development is not the outcome any of us would have wanted, but we hope that it can at least start to provide some answers for Nicola's loved ones, who remain foremost in our thoughts."
A statement from Bulley's family read by the police detailed on the family's response to the formal identification as they said it was "our worst fears." The family said, "We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us."
"We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the center of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that. Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most," added the grieving family.
Criticizing the media, the family described the media as a "shameful" intrusion and criticized their role during the search probe, stating that the media dragged in her partner, friends, and relatives, accusing them of "misquoting and vilifying."
What led to discovering Bulley's body?
Despite weeks of searching in the area for Bulley, the investigators were finally able to spot the body only after a man and woman who walked their dog near the area of River Wyre informed the officers that a person was spotted in the water, according to Sky News.
"It was a body. It is down there. It was a body of a woman. There is definitely a body down there," said the man guiding the cops by pointing toward the area, according to a witness, reported the Daily Mail.A force helicopter arrived at the scene soon after a drone was launched into the area.
Northwest England's former chief crown prosecutor, Nazir Afzal stated, "In many respects, the police have been vindicated. A lot of people online — armchair sleuths — have been suggesting something more nefarious than what happened," and at the time he added, "The experts know what they are doing. But, clearly, questions will have to be asked about why the body wasn't located earlier," concluding that "Public confidence has been damaged by what's happened," according to his statement to The Times.