A former Met detective has told of his surprise after police divers returned to the river where Nicola Bulley’s body was found.
Specialists were filmed in Lancashire’s River Wyre less than a mile from the bank where the mother of two disappeared on January 27, sparking a massive 23-day manhunt.
Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, has asked Lancashire Police to return to the water for investigative work to help confirm her cause of death and what happened before she was found in the reeds on February 20.
Today, former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley called the development “unusual.”
He told MailOnline: ‘It is quite common in a complex case for detectives to send police officers to question a witness, but it is extremely rare for forensic officers to be sent to a crime scene twice. The police only get one chance to get it right.’
Divers were filmed in Lancashire’s River Wyre less than a mile from the bank where the mother of two disappeared on January 27, sparking a massive 23-day manhunt
Nicola Bulley, pictured with her partner Paul Ansell, disappeared on Jan. 27 while walking her dog. She was found dead 23 days later
Footage from the scene shows divers working in the Wyre near the weir on Tuesday.
Mr Bleksley, who appeared on Channel 4 show Hunted, said the footage was ‘not great’ for police.
“Here they are, many weeks after Nicola’s body was found by a member of the public — not the police — and they’re back there at the coroner’s behest or instructions,” he said.
“During the hunt for Nicola Bulley, I think Lancashire Police got the reports very wrong and now the footage isn’t great.
How thorough, how professional, how good were the initial searches? It is clear that the coroner has questions from the police, which is why these specialists are again trying to find something that they clearly did not find all those weeks ago.
“I strongly suspect that the police want to avoid the embarrassment of a fisherman or a member of the public finding something they didn’t find. Just like what happened to the body.’
Forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, who worked on key cases such as the Stephen Lawrence investigation and was called in as an expert in the Harold Shipman trial, has said he believes police are looking for a missing item.
However, former detective Julie MacKay told MailOnline she was “not convinced” of this hypothesis.
The coroner has ordered Lancashire Police to return to the river to assist in Nicola’s upcoming inquest, which will determine her cause of death.
Mrs Bulley (pictured), 45, went missing after walking her dog by the river in St Michael’s-on-Wyre
It would be interesting to see how high the rivers are today compared to the date she went missing. They may gather in formation about current levels, river height, speed, and how obstacles present themselves.
“If the river levels are not the same, there must be a new piece of information that is relevant and the coroner is trying to confirm, explain or ignore it.
“This could be from a member of the public or from an expert who assisted the Coroner.”
The footage shows the divers wading through the water next to the weir near where the 45-year-old’s phone and her dog Willow were found the morning she disappeared.
The divers climbed over the weir and one had been swimming ‘on his back’ in the water. They were then filmed wading through the water at different depths.
Mrs. Bulley’s body was found on 19 February a mile downstream from the weir among reeds and undergrowth. A cause of death has not been made public.
An inquest into her death will take place at County Hall in Preston on Monday 26 June.
A spokesperson for HM Coroner said: ‘The investigation will take time to ensure that the fullest possible picture of the facts surrounding Mrs Bulley’s death is presented to the inquest. This will help the family understand what happened.’
Lancashire Police confirmed the divers have returned to the River Wyre as part of the investigation into Nicola Bulley’s death.
“We can confirm that it is we who are carrying out work on behalf of HM Coroner,” a police spokesman told the Lancashire Post.
Police had searched the area where Nicola was found twice before a member of the public discovered her body in the reeds. The photo shows the police during one of the earlier house searches
Lancashire Police are facing several inquiries into the handling of the case.
Police were widely criticized for revealing Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause two weeks after she disappeared at the river near St Michael’s on Wyre.
Lancashire Constabulary is also yet to comment on why it took 23 days for Ms Bulley’s body to be found, as well as its handling of social media sleuths who filmed themselves in backyards looking for the 45-year-old mortgage adviser.
Her body was discovered by psychic Jason Rothwell. An inquest into her death was opened and later adjourned in February. Coroner Dr James Adeley told the four-minute hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court that Ms Bulley had been identified from dental records.
He added that the rest of the evidence “requires further evaluation” and no cause of death was given. The judicial investigation will resume this summer.
The Independent Bureau of Police Behavior has already launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s past contact with the police. An officer conducted a welfare check at her home 17 days before she went missing.
And the Information Commissioner’s Office – which focuses on data privacy – has made an initial inquiry with the power to understand the reasons for the release of Ms Bulley’s personal information at a press conference.