Nicola Bulley: ‘Abandoned’ house near where missing mother disappeared while dog walking and searched by rescuers

An unoccupied house was searched as part of the search for the missing mother Nicola Bulley.

The 45-year-old’s phone was found near the home after she disappeared during a conference call.

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The mother disappeared on Friday while walking her dog beside the River Wyre on Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre and police have been searching for the mother ever since.

Her phone was found abandoned on a bench near the river trail, still connected to her morning work call.

Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue’s Kev Camplin told The Mirror: “The abandoned house is just across the river from the bank, over a 10ft garden wall.

“We didn’t go inside, as a volunteer search and rescue team we don’t actually go inside buildings. We could go to a barn or something. We’ll leave that to the police.

“While the team was searching the premises the owner was there for some reason and we asked him to go inside and he quickly looked around and she wasn’t there.”

Yesterday police tracked down a potential key witness who may be one of the last people to see a missing mother-of-two.

Lancashire Police today said they were looking for a “potentially important witness” to come forward.

They said the man was in the area at the time Nicola went missing and was walking a small white fluffy dog ​​on a leash.

He spoke to a woman in the area before heading towards Rowanwater.

Officials have now confirmed that the man has been found and are speaking to police.

Nicola’s dog, Willow, has been safely spotted, but the mother appears to have disappeared.

Nicolas’ brother-in-law Stephen Cunningham said: “As you would expect, the whole family is struggling to understand what happened and is incredibly concerned.”

It comes as partner Paul Ansell revealed new clues into the mother’s disappearance.

The 44-year-old engineer said his girlfriend took the kids to school as usual and then left for their regular morning dog walk.

He added: “I called the police after receiving a call from the school about someone finding Willow and Nikki’s phone and the dog leash and harness on the bench.

“We take the kids to school and we take the dog there — either me or Nikki — almost every day.”

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

To find the mother of two, an extensive search was launched involving police, firefighters, mountain rescue, underwater teams and the local community.

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