Nicola Bulley’s partner tells of ‘agony’ after body recovered from river in search

Nicola Bulley’s partner has told of his “agony” after a body was found in the river near where she went missing.

The body, which has not yet been formally identified, was found on Sunday morning (February 19) around a mile from where the 45-year-old mortgage adviser was last seen. Nicola, a mother-of-two, had been walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27.

In a message to Sky News, her partner Paul Ansell said: “No words right now, just agony. We’re all together, we have to be strong.”

READ MORE: Pale-faced man's first words to police after discovering body in search for Nicola Bulley

It is understood that a man and a woman walking their dog discovered the body and called police. Lancashire Constabulary said officers were called to the River Wyre close to Rawcliffe Road at around 11.35am.

“An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body,” a statement said. “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. Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected.”

The body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged. Police had earlier erected a tent and cordoned off the lane while police divers were called