Nicola Bulley: search of River Wyre could take three days, says expert helping police

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A leading forensic search expert who has joined the search for Nicola Bulley has said it could take up to three days to conduct a thorough search of the River Wyre, into which police believe she fell on 27 January.

Bulley, 45, from Inskip in Lancashire, vanished, apparently without trace, on the morning of 27 January while taking her dog Willow for a morning walk close to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre.

Lancashire police have been searching the Wyre but have so far not discovered any evidence that Bulley fell into the water although that is their working hypothesis.

Peter Faulding, a forensic search and rescue expert who founded the company Specialist Group International, offered to assist the police free of charge, and has drafted in a team of six divers to help with the search effort.

Faulding said that his main motivation for getting involved was to “bring closure for the family”. He told the Guardian he had very high frequency sonar equipment, along with 20 years’ experience of this kind of underwater search mission.

He said he would begin the work by carrying out aerial surveillance of the river by helicopter to get a better understanding of it.

“The river is quite an unusual one. It’s not a straight river but a very windy one,” he said. “I think that within two to three days we should have all of the river searched. We are trying to help the police as much as we can.

“The police are conducting lots of other inquiries apart from the search focused on the river. But if Nicola did not come to be in the river we should be able to rule that out in the next few days.”

Faulding will be in charge of scanning the river with the hi-tech sonar equipment. If any area of interest is identified the team of divers will be able to focus on that area.

“I think we probably have the best and highest frequency kit available to do this work. It’s very easy to be an armchair detective in cases like this. I’ve had all sorts of people like psychics contact me about it. I’m going in with an open mind. What we need to do is get on with the job.”

He said that while this kind of work could be emotionally gruelling he had been heartened by the support from the community, including Bulley’s family, that he had received.

“There is a big community effort going on here. The British are great at pulling together in these kinds of situations,” he said.

Emma White, a friend of Nicola Bulley, said she hoped Faulding’s work would provide answers to the police theory that she fell in the river.

White told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The hypothesis is based on limited information – I’ve said before it’s a theory – and we sadly can’t base life on a theory.

White said Bulley’s two young daughters were coping “remarkably well” but added: “They ask every day where Mummy is.”