Missing mother Nicola Bulley’s parents reveal last conversation with their daughter the day before she disappeared

MISSING Nicola Bulley’s parents fear someone has “caught” them as she was in “good spirits” as they chatted the day before she disappeared.

The 45-year-old was last seen at around 9.15am on Friday at St Michael in Wyre, Lancashire.

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Her disappearance is mysterious after her cell phone was found nearby, still connected to a business conference call.

Nicola’s pet springer spaniel, Willow, was also spotted – still no sign of the missing mother.

Her parents, Ernest, 73, and Dot, 72, have now expressed their fears, saying Nicola’s disappearance is completely out of character.

They also told the Mirror “we will never stop looking for her” as the search entered its fifth day.

Recalling the last conversation with his daughter, Ernest said: “Your opinion was great, we picked up the children on Thursday before their disappearance, as we do every Thursday.

“We took her home, Nicola had a meeting with her boss in Garstang and she said can you stay a little later because I have an important client on Zoom. We said ‘no problem’ and stayed.

“She had done her job and was very optimistic about getting her mortgage in order.

“I said we had better go now and Nicola came to the front door and I gave her a kiss and told her I love her and that was the last conversation I had with her.”

Lancashire Police said they are treating the case as a missing person inquiry but are remaining open-minded.

The force also says there is nothing to indicate the dog walker was attacked.

But Ernest said there’s no evidence Nicola fell in the river while walking Willow and worries someone may have “caught” her.

He said he asked the sergeant if there was any chance she was “taken” but was told police didn’t think that was the case.

But Ernest added: “I said, ‘How do you know?’, it’s such an isolated area, the only way that happened is if it was someone who knew.”

Ernest said the family are “afraid to think” they will never see Nicola again as he doesn’t know how they would deal with it “for the rest of our lives”.

Speaking about her daughter’s children, he added: “We don’t know how long we can keep going before they realize mum’s coming home soon, but if this keeps going I don’t know where we’re going or what to tell them.”

Nicola’s mum Dot also shared that nights are hardest “when it gets dark” as she wonders how and where her daughter is.

It comes after police tracked down a “potentially important witness” who may have been the last person to see Nicola walking his own dog around 9.15am.

A timeline of the minutes leading up to Nicola’s disappearance has also emerged.

The mother-of-two had dropped her daughters off at school, ages six and nine, before heading out on her regular morning dog walk.

At 9:01 am, Nicola’s employer, Exclusively Mortgages, said she had signed in for a team meeting but her camera and microphone were off.

She was last seen at 9.15am on January 27 walking east along the towpath of the River Wyre.

A passer-by alerted the children’s school after spotting Willow, her dog leash and harness, and Nicola’s phone on a bench heading toward Wyreside Farm Caravan Park.

To find the mother of two, a full-scale search was launched involving police, firefighters, mountain rescue, underwater teams and the local community.

Officers continue to search wooded areas, ditches, water’s edges and the site of an abandoned house.

Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell told the children “Mummy is lost” over the weekend, causing them to burst into tears.

Paul said earlier at the family home in Inskip: “It’s just eternal hell. utter disbelief.

“All we can say is that we must find her. She has two little girls who need their mom at home.

“We must have good news now.”

Nicola was described as white, 5 feet 3 inches tall with light brown shoulder length hair

She was last seen in a long black hooded vest, black jeans and olive green wellies with her hair in a ponytail.

Nicola has an Essex accent and ties to the Thornton Cleveleys area near Blackpool.

Anyone who has seen her or has information as to her whereabouts is asked to call 101 and cite log 473 of January 27.

The force said to call 999 to report immediate sightings.

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