Nicola Bulley could have fallen into a river while trying to retrieve her dog’s ball, police have suggested.

The 45-year-old mum has been missing for eight days from St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.

Officers believe the circumstances around her disappearance are likely not suspicious and that she fell into the River Wyre.

No ball was ever discovered alongside her dog Willow, who was found dry by a member of the public.

Detectives fear that if Nicola did accidentally fall into the river then her heavy clothing, such as long jacket and Wellington boots, could have weighed her down.

‘I’m not aware of a dog ball being retrieved but it’s possible a ball could have rolled down the steep bank close to the water and Ms Bulley was bending down to pick it up,’ Superintendent Sally Riley told The Sun.

‘What she was wearing could also be a factor.

‘Her clothing was heavy, particularly on someone of slight build and only 5ft 3ins.

‘We assume the dog didn’t get into the river, but we don’t know why Nicola may have if she did.’

Nicola was last seen walking her dog river by the River Wyre last Friday at 9.10am after dropping her two daughters off at school.

At 9.20am, her phone was connected to a Teams meeting on a bench by the river which ended at 9.30am.

A short while later, a walker found Willow ‘bone dry’ by the bench and Nicola’s phone still connected to the then ended Teams call meeting.

Police believe she may have put her phone down between 9.20am and 9.30am in a ‘ten minute window’ to enter the river.

A friend of the missing mum says she booked a playdate at 8.57am, which has been seen as evidence she did not intentionally go missing.

Officers have ruled out Nicola being kidnapped after extensive searches of CCTV show no one leaving or exiting the gates by the river.

The inquiry team have also pulled security footage, dashcams and ring doorbells, and have spoken to three key witnesses.

On Friday, Nicola’s boyfriend Paul Ansell said he ‘could not get his head’ around the fact Nicola is missing.

He said his focus is staying strong for their two daughters who keep asking why their mummy is missing.

He thanked the community for their support in the search but admitted it feels like the family are ‘no further forward’ eight days later.

The search of the River Wyre and the surrounding areas will continue this weekend.

Search teams, underwater drones, and tidal experts are hunting along a 10-mile stretch of water upstream and to the Irish Sea.

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