Nicola Bulley, the mum-of-two who disappeared along the River Wyre at around 9.20am on January 27 while walking her pet dog Willow is still not found.
Lancashire Police have this week revealed the mum-of-two had been considered a high-risk missing person from the start of the investigation and claimed they were called to a concern for welfare report at her home last month, according to Mirror.
Health professionals also attended on 10 January, the force said, adding no arrests were made but it was being investigated.
A police spokesman said it was clear after speaking to Nicola’s family she had ‘in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause.
‘These struggles had resurfaced over recent months [and] this caused some real challenges for [her partner] Paul and the family,’ the spokesman added.
The force said it had taken the ‘unusual step’ to go into this level of detail as it was ‘important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation’.
‘We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.’
The new update from Lancashire Police has unsettled the public and media.
Many social media users have accused Lancashire Police of victim blaming Nicola and argued there was no need for the public to know about her struggle with the menopause and alcohol issues.
Denise Welch and Fern Britton are among a string of celebrities who have hit out at the police over their latest update regarding missing person Nicola Bulley, with the Loose Women star branding them an ‘absolute disgrace’.
And many of Fern’s followers agreed to the star’s concerns amidst Police revelation yesterday that Nicola Bulley was ‘high-risk’ due to her drinking.
The broadcaster, 65, yesterday poured fury on the police for revealing Nicola Bulley’s battle with the menopause, declaring that it is ‘too easy to write a woman off like this’.
Fern said she was angry that Nikki was depicted by police as ‘a bit unstable’ or ‘not in her right mind’, even though an estimated 13million women in the UK are also battling the menopause.
Nikki’s partner Paul and her family are said to be ‘in pieces’ after the police revealed her medical history yesterday.
Ms Britton said: ‘I am uncomfortable with the latest news suggesting that Nicola Bulley has an issue with alcohol and menopause.
‘The undertone is that she maybe ‘a bit unstable’ or perhaps even ‘not in her right mind’. Too easy to write a woman off like this. What lies behind it?’
Lancashire Police has been accused of ‘victim blaming’ for disclosing that Ms Bulley suffered ‘some significant issues with alcohol ‘ in the past, which had resurfaced in recent months ‘brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause’.
The force was also strongly condemned by MPs and campaign groups. DailyMail reported.
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Twitter: ‘I am deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley’s so-called ‘vulnerabilities’ on menopause and alcohol.
‘I struggle to ascertain how this will assist police in their search & investigations. I do see how it would assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish.’
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said that the actions of Lancashire Police were ‘very unusual’, after the force disclosed that Nicola Bulley suffered ‘some significant issues with alcohol’ in the past, which had resurfaced over recent months.
Ms Cooper refrained from criticising the police, but said she would speak to Lancashire Police in a bid to get answers about the decision.
She told Sky News: ‘I do have a lot of questions and concerns about that. I would want to speak directly to Lancashire Police about their reasons for doing so before commenting further, because I know there can be complicated reasons for police decisions.
‘It’s very unusual and it does raise some quite significant concerns.’
Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, tweeted: ‘Lancashire Police broadcasting missing Nicola Bulley’s health issues and hormone status to the world is a serious invasion of her privacy with no obvious benefits for the investigation.
‘A shocking decision when the police’s treatment of women is rightly in the spotlight.’
‘It’s not at all clear how the police are justifying this disclosure, which seems to be aimed at shoring up public support for Lancashire Police’s own forgone conclusions.
