BBC The Search for Nicola Bulley: Full timeline of events from day of disappearance to body being found

A new BBC documentary airing tonight explores the search for missing Lancashire mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, whose disappearance gripped the nation at the start of last year.

Nicola disappeared on January 27 while walking her dog along the river in St Michael’s on Wyre, shortly after dropping her daughters at school. After more than three weeks of searching, the missing mum's body was eventually discovered in the water, close to where she was last seen.

The widespread search, involving specialist divers and teams, drew a huge amount of attention on social media, with the small village she went missing in becoming inundated with visitors.

READ MORE: 'Nikki would be mortified' - Nicola Bulley's partner speaks out over 'conflict' with police

The new documentary, The Search For Nicola Bulley, explores the media coverage of her disappearance as well as the impact of “amateur internet sleuths” conducting their own investigations. Nicola's partner Paul Ansell, her sister Louise Cunningham, and her parents Ernest and Dorothy Bulley all participated in the documentary, revealing the impact of the public scrutiny on their lives.

Police had accused “TikTokers” of “playing private detectives” in the area amid her disappearance, and said they were “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours” relating to the case. People on social media made false accusations about their being third-party involvement, and rumours were spread about a derelict house on the other side of the River Wyre, a red van in the area, a fisherman seen nearby and a glove belonging to Ms Bulley, which were all dismissed by police.

Overall, the search lasted more than three weeks. Nicola's body was recovered from the River Wyre on February 19, about a mile from where she vanished.

A coroner recorded her death as accidental, and said she fell into the river and suffered “cold water shock”, and there was “no evidence” to suggest suicide.

Here's a timeline of the key events in the search for the missing mum - from the day she went missing, to the day her body was found.

Time Line

Timeline: The search for Nicola Bulley

1. January 27 - Nicola goes missing At 8.26am, Nicola left home with her two daughters - aged six and nine - to drop them off at school. At 8.43am, the mum took her pet dog Willow for a walk along the path by the River Wyre, heading towards a gate in the lower field. She was later seen by another dog walker who was familiar with her. At 8.53am, she sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later. Nicola then logged onto a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am. The Teams call ended at 9.20am, but Nicola's phone remained connected. At 9.33am, another dog walker recovered Nicola's phone on a bench beside the river. Willow the dog was also found darting between the two. At 10.50am, Nicola's family and the schools attended by her children were informed of her disappearance.
2. January 28 - Major missing persons operation underway A series of drones, helicopters, and police search dogs are deployed by Lancashire Constabulary as part of a major missing persons operation. Lancashire Fire and Rescue aided in the search, accompanied by the Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
3. January 29 - Local residents band together A meeting is held by local residents at the village hall in order to organise a search. Police urge volunteers to remain cautious.
4. January 30 - Police 'keeping an open mind' Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary tells the public that police are "keeping a really open mind about what could have happened". She highlights that the force is not treating Nicola's disappearance as suspicious.
5. February 2 - Witness found after CCTV appeal Lancashire Constabulary speak with a witness, who was identified via CCTV. The witness tells police they have no additional information which could help with the search. Searches are also conducted by officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit near where Nicola's mobile phone was recovered.
6. February 3 - Lancashire Police confirm working hypothesis Lancashire Police says the force is working on the hypothesis that Nicola fell into the River Wyre.
7. February 4 - Police appeal for 'key witness' The force says it is tracing a "key witness" who was spotted pushing a pram in the area near where Nicola disappeared.
8. February 5 - 'Key witness' comes forward The woman described as a "key witness" comes forward. The force insists she is "very much being treated as a witness". The force warns against speculation and abuse on social media. It comes to light that a private underwater rescue team is set to assist police in the search for Nicola.
9. February 6 - Underwater search experts arrive Underwater search experts arrive on scene to conduct their searches. Nicola's partner, Paul Ansell, says in a statement: “It’s been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.”
10. February 7 - Nicola 'not in the water', search expert says Underwater search expert Peter Faulding says he does not think the missing mum is in the water. Police oppose suggestions that Nicola could have been a crime victim. The add that inquiries have "so far not found anything of note". A team of 40 detectives are looking into 500 different lines of inquiry, the force says.
11. February 8 - Nicola's partner describes 'perpetual hell' Mr Ansell spends 10 minutes on the riverbank near where Nicola's phone was recovered. He describes the "perpetual hell" he is experiencing of not knowing what happened to his partner. Search teams also begin focusing on an area 10 miles or so downstream of the bench - where the River Wyre empties into the sea at Morecambe Bay.
12. February 9 - Police work to suppress social media storm Lancashire Police issues a dispersal order to break up groups of people reportedly filming in the village as social media erupts with viral content about the searches.
13. February 10 - Friends and family speak out Nicola's partner Paul says the family are going through "unprecedented hell" but they have still not given up hope of finding her. A friend of Nicola's, Emma White, says the search has been "like torture".
14. February 12 - Messages of hope left on bridge Yellow ribbons with handwritten messages are left by friends and family on a bridge close to where she disappeared. Messages read: "We need you home Nicola”, “praying for your safe return” and “I love you”
15. February 13 - Wyre Council take action Wyre Council remove councillors' contact information from its website. They say the reason is "inappropriate emails and phone calls" regarding Nicola's disappearance.
16. February 14 - Arrests made over 'malicious communications' Two people are arrested on suspicion of sending malicious communications
17. February 15 - Police hold press conference Police hold a press conference, providing updates on the search for Nicola. During the press conference, senior police officers say Nicola is “vulnerable” and classed as a “high-risk” missing person. Lancashire Police later revealed to the public that she had issues with alcohol “brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause”. Police also hit out at “false information, accusations and rumours” which had been circulating. Activity by online amateur sleuths and social media video-makers had meant officers were “distracted significantly”, the force said. Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator, told reporters: “In 29 years’ police service I’ve never seen anything like it. Some of it has been quite shocking and really hurtful to the family.”
18. February 16 - Family urge 'stop making wild theories up' Police come under fire for releasing personal details about Nicola. Her family say in a new statement that people needed to stop “making wild theories up” about her private life. It said: "It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her private life. "As a family, we were aware that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop. "The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her. Due to the peri menopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT, thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis. "The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life. Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers." Lancashire Police refer themselves to the police watchdog over contact they had with the missing mother of two prior to her disappearance.
19. February 17 - Villagers 'scared in their own homes' due to interest in case The three-week anniversary of Ms Bulley’s disappearance. Information Commissioner John Edwards says in a statement he will be speaking to Lancashire Police about why it decided to disclose information about her alcohol and HRT issues. Former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird said the force had made a “sexist” error by disclosing her struggles with alcohol and the menopause. Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent reveals people in the village where she vanished have employed an external security company and are “scared in their own homes” because of interest in the case.
20. February 19 - Police find Nicola's body At around 11.30am, police are called to reports of a body in the water close to where Nicola went missing. Around three hours later, the force confirm a body has been found. In a statement, the force says: “An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body. “No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time. “Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained."
21. February 20 - Body confirmed to be Nicola Lancashire Police hold a press conference at around 5:30pm, where assistant chief constable Peter Lawson says: “Sadly, we are now able to confirm that yesterday we recovered Nicola Bulley from the River Wyre. “Nicola’s family have been informed and are of course devastated. Our thoughts are with them at this time as well as with all her loved ones and the wider community. “We recognise the huge impact that Nicola’s disappearance has had on her family and friends, but also on the people of St Michael’s. “We would like to thank all of those who have helped during what has been a hugely complex and highly emotional investigation. “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.” Nicola's family issue a statement through the police, thanking friends and the community in St Michael's on Wyre for their support. They also criticise 'public and press' for interfering with their privacy during the course of the investigation. "Finally, Nikki. You are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now. We love you, always have and always will. We will take it from here," they say.

The director of the new documentary said it was “nerve-racking” to put Nicola's partner back into public focus following the scrutiny the family faced. Rachel Lob-levyt, who worked on Louis Theroux Interviews and Hospital, told the Radio Times that the “family tell their story in their own words, unfiltered”.

She said: “We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult – obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki.

“At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny. The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do.

“The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. In the past we’d have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated. Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information.”

The Search For Nicola Bulley airs on BBC One on October 3 at 9pm and on will be available on BBC iPlayer.