Police confirmed on Monday that the body discovered in a river in northwest England on Sunday was that of a mother whose disappearance in late January intrigued Brits and ignited social media.
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“Unfortunately we can now confirm that we recovered Nicola Bulley from the River Wyre yesterday,” Lancashire Police said in a brief press conference.
The 45-year-old mother was last seen on January 27 by the River Wyre walking her dog after taking her two little girls to school. His phone was still connected to an online conference when he was found on a bench. Her dog had not gone into the water, which some saw as a sign that the mother of the family could not have fallen into the river.
The body was found about a mile from where it was last seen.
The police had rejected the hypothesis of a criminal act from the start. Blows had achieved nothing, no more than specialized teams searching the river.
In the absence of the slightest element, the theories had blossomed on social media, with the Nicola Bulley hashtag being used nearly 1.8 million times, according to Sky News.
Some had impromptu amateur detectives who went to the crime scene at the risk of making police work more difficult.
It had emerged a few days ago that Nicola Bulley was considered a “vulnerable” person due to alcohol problems and difficulties related to premenopause. She had been criticized for leaking those details, but the announcement was apparently intended to prevent those details from being sold to the tabloids.
In a statement on Monday, the family denounced the “appalling” behavior of “the press and the public”.
“The press and public accused her father (of the two little girls, ed.) of misconduct, misquoted and slandered friends and family. It’s absolutely appalling, they need to be held accountable, it can’t happen to any other family,” she said.
In particular, the family recounted how certain TV channels tried to cover them on Sunday night after the body was discovered, despite asking everyone to respect their privacy.