A body has been found in the search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, police have confirmed today.
The discovery has been made 23 days after the mum-of-two went missing while walking her dog. An investigation into her whereabouts has spanned across the River Wyre around a village near Preston in Lancashire.
Formal identification of the remains has yet to take place.
Today (19 February), Lancashire Police announced in a statement: "This morning, Sunday, 19 February, you may be aware of police activity around the river near to St Michaels. We want to provide you with an update on that activity.
"We were called today at 11:36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
"An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
The statement continues: "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 on-going.
"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 missing dog walker hasn't been heard from since the morning of Friday, 27 January after she vanished.
She was last seen at around 9.20am while walking her pet alongside the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre not long after taking her daughters, aged six and nine, to school.
Earlier this month, the head diver of a specialist team who has been called to help in the search for Bulley described the case as the 'most baffling' he has ever worked on.
Underwater searches using specialist sonar equipment in the river had taken place to try and locate Bulley, as investigators believe she might have fallen into the river and drowned.
Peter Faulding, head of the private diving team Specialist Group International (SGI), was one working tirelessly in the efforts which took place on 6 February.
With Lancashire Police, he searched 'three or four miles' of the river until it got dark, and it was unsafe to continue.
Speaking on TalkTV, Faulding said that he has been left 'baffled' that Bulley has not been found after ten days of intense searches.
He said: "After 25 years of doing this kind of work, after hundreds of cases, I am well and truly baffled. Normally you would expect the divers to find them easily.
"When people drown they generally go down where they are. We normally find them within five to ten days of where they went down.
"This is the most baffling case that I have ever worked on."
In a press conference, Superintendent Sally Riley said the police's theory is that Bulley 'sadly fell into the river and this is a missing person enquiry'.
She added: "The river is a complex area to search ... and is tidal in parts.
"As acknowledged by experts, this makes the search more difficult."
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Gregory Robinson