BBC The Search for Nicola Bulley: What happened to her and where was she found?

A new BBC documentary will look at a missing person case that gripped the nation.

The Search for Nicola Bulley, which airs on BBC One tonight, explores what happened to the missing Lancashire mum, from Inskip, and why the case drew so much attention from the public.

Nicola, 45, disappeared while she was walking her pet dog along the River Wyre near the village of St Michael's on Wyre on January 27 last year, shortly after dropping her children off at school. When her mobile phone and dog were found by a bench near the river with no sign of Nicola, a huge search was launched to try and find her.

READ MORE: Full timeline of events from day of disappearance to body being found

In the weeks that followed, the small Lancashire village became a hotspot for internet sleuths carrying out their own investigations and coming up with 'wild theories' about the mum that were slammed by the family.

In the new documentary, Nicola's partner, sister and parents all speak out about the impact the search and the coverage of it had on them.

When did Nicola Bulley go missing?

On the morning of January 27 in 2023, Nicola dropped off her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school and took her regular dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael's.

Around half an hour later, her mobile phone, which was still connected to a work Teams call, was discovered on a bench overlooking the water. Her dog Willow was also found alone near the bench, showing no signs of having been in the river, while the dog's harness was found on the ground between the bench and the river.

In the days that followed, an extensive search of the river, surrounding land, and the nearby sea was initiated, involving divers, drones, sniffer dogs and helicopters.

Where was Nicola's body found?

Despite the initial search failing to locate Nicola, her body was tragically discovered by a man and a woman walking in the area about one mile (1.5 kilometres) downstream of St Michael's on Wyre on February 19.

The body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.

What was the cause of death?

An inquest into Nicola's death was conducted in Preston in June 2023. Coroner Dr James Adeley concluded that her death was accidental, resulting from an accidental fall into the river, resulting in "cold water shock".

Dr Adeley stated that there was "no evidence" to suggest that Nicola had taken her own life.

He told the inquest: "Excluding a couple of comments over the Christmas period when she was acting out of character and were treated as throw away comments, there was no indication of any intention to take her own life.

"In the week leading up to her death, her behaviour had returned to normal. She had resumed her HRT therapy, stopped drinking some time prior, and was making plans for social engagements, including play dates and spa days with several people. Additionally, she was experiencing increasing success in her new career as a mortgage broker and had behaved entirely normally during her parents' visit the night before and with Paul Ansell on the morning of her death."

He added: "The circumstances found after her death would also be extremely unusual for suicide, as Nikki left Willow, a dog to whom she was devoted and described as a 'third child', alone on the river bank.

"Nikki would also had to have had sufficient knowledge of cold water shock to realise as to how rapidly a death may occur as otherwise she may be spotted and saved; that she chose to do so at the main intersection of paths where she could be interrupted at any point would be unusual and to leave her car keys in her pocket with the car in the school playground where her children, to whom she was devoted, would see it would be cruel. For these and many other reasons I discount a conclusion of suicide as there is no evidence to support this conclusion."

He added that there was also "no natural disease that contributed to Nikki's death".

Sophie Cartwright KC, the lawyer representing her family, stated in final submissions to the coroner that the evidence clearly pointed to her going into the River Wyre accidentally and her drowning quickly in the cold water.

What did police say about Nicola during the search?

Police received criticism during the investigation after they released personal information about Nicola to the public.

On February 15, Lancashire Police said Nicola was categorised as a 'high risk' missing person due to 'specific vulnerabilities' related to 'significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause'.

Nicola's family said she had stopped taking her HRT over that period and began drinking to deal with it. In the documentary, Nicola's sister described it as a "weird blip".

The force faced criticism for the manner in which it disclosed details of Nicola's medical condition, with even the Prime Minister voicing concerns over the release of private information.

In November last year, an independent review of Lancashire Police's management of Nicola's disappearance was released to the public. It found that the release of personal information about Nicola's health struggles was “avoidable and unnecessary”, and police and media need to rebuild trust.

What was being said on social media?

Nicola's disappearance sparked considerable interest on platforms like TikTok, leading many social media users to visit the area in the subsequent days to 'play private detective'.

In the documentary, Nicola's partner Paul said the family initially welcomed the huge public interest in the case as the search developed, but it soon got out of control.

With the attention came a wave of amateur social media 'sleuths', some posting hurtful and wildly misleading claims about the case online. The family were also subject to online hate as the days went on.

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 Nicola, all of which were dismissed by police.

Police accused “TikTokers” of “playing private detectives” in the area amid her disappearance. Officers said they were “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours” relating to the case and that it was negatively impacting the police investigation and adversely affecting Nicola's family.

The review into the police's handling of the case found that the force had lost control of the public narrative early on, with senior officers neglecting to brief mainstream accredited journalists due to a breakdown in trust. It said this resulted in an information void and uncontrolled speculation.

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