In a new revelation, diving expert Peter Faulding has cast further doubt on the theory that Nicola Bulley fell into the river, saying that she ‘would have to be pushed hard’ if that was the case.
The search for Ms Bulley has entered its third week. Lancashire Police believe she most likely fell into the river near a bench where her dog and mobile phone were found in St Michael’s on Wyre.
A diving expert, whose team last week searched a stretch of the river where Nicola was last seen, has launched his own ‘low key’ inquiry into the missing mother-of-two’s disappearance.
‘If Nicola slipped down the bank she would end up with water to the top of her legs … if she went out into the middle it’s about three-and-a-half meters to four meters deep,’ Faulding told TalkTV.
Peter Faulding, who was drafted in to help police investigate the disappearance of the mother-of-two, believes Ms Bulley would have been able to easily stand up and wait for help rather than being swept away down the River Wyre.
‘But the bench is quite a way back, so to actually get into the river you would have to be pushed very hard, or knocked out and shoved in the river.
‘I mean the dog was dry here, so I don’t believe that she’s just slipped down the bank.’ The forensic expert continued: ‘She was a very cautious lady and from talking to the family, she was a creature of habit.’
‘From Strava data, her family said she does not go near that river, she’s really cautious,’ he added.
‘She takes the same route every morning, and this is what doesn’t stack up. None of this stacks up at all.’
‘If she slipped down the bank she wouldn’t go far,’ he said. ‘The rocks would hold her in place and she’d only have been waist deep. She could have stood there and asked for help because people do walk by.’
‘She’d have needed to be pushed extremely hard from behind to have launched herself into the deep water and experienced police divers have searched that thoroughly.
‘Bodies don’t tend to move too far. If there were flood waters it would be different,’ he added.
‘But it wasn’t a raging torrent. The river was searched extremely thoroughly by the highly competent divers.’
Peter Faulding has worked on numerous high-profile cases for police forces.
