‘There’s always a fall guy, it looks like it’s me, but I’m not accepting it’
The diving expert who helped search for Nicola Bulley on Monday defended his team’s failure to find the missing mum-of-two – despite saying from the outset that if she was in the river, he’d find her “immediately” – saying that police never asked him to search the area where a body was later recovered.
Lancashire Police on Sunday confirmed they had recovered a body around a mile from where the mum-of-two went missing, after being called to the River Wyre, near Rawcliffe Road, at 11:35am that day. It is understood that a man and a woman walking their dog near the river called the force to report seeing a person in the water.
The body is yet to be confirmed as that of the 45-year-old who was last at 9.10am on January 27.
Peter Faulding and his Specialist Group International team scoured the River Wyre for three days after Nicola vanished. The 60-year-old pulled out of the search, before later rejoining it.
Faulding has been highly critical of Lancashire Police’s efforts since the outset, branding their investigation a “mess”, before he joined the search, and often contradicting them in media interviews.
Nicola was found in reeds a mile from where she was last seen and Faulding said Monday that a riverbank and wade search would have been the only means to find her there.
Lancashire Police reportedly searched the area. Faulding’s high-tech sonar cannot travel through reeds.
'At the time, I can categorically say, there was no body in the river.'
Peter Faulding, who helped search the River Wyre, says he now believes 'Nicola walked off somewhere & has gone in the river some other way'
Police have recovered a body near where Nicola Bulley went missing pic.twitter.com/FK0PYw6reJ
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 20, 2023
It was important for me to answer questions in relation to the search for Nicola Bulley on @GBNEWS this morning. #Nicolabulley https://t.co/GttwYnV713
— Peter Faulding (@peter_faulding) February 20, 2023
Faulding said Monday: “The SGI underwater search team was tasked with searching the river upstream of the weir in the non-tidal part of the river, past the bench where Nicola’s phone was found and a mile upstream past this point.
“For three days, using high-frequency side scan sonar, we thoroughly searched the riverbed and can categorically confirm that Nicola was not laying on the riverbed on the days that we searched.
“We did search the stretch of river where Nicola was [allegedly] found for four hours on our first day and then upstream past the weir on the subsequent two days.”
Faulding said the spot where the body was found, in the reeds at the side of the river, “was not part of our remit as the side scan sonar does not penetrate reeds above or below the water”.
The expert said the difference between the area his team searched, and the spot where the body was found, has led to “confusion and unfair criticism towards myself and my team”.
“My previous comments saying that if Nicola was in the river, I would find her, still stand. My team and I at SGI did all we could to assist this family with only our best intentions. I am sure I can say this of everyone who has been involved in this difficult search,” Faulding said.
Faulding’s position on the search, appears to be backed by former Scotland Yard Superintendent Nusrit Mehtab, who told Sky News Lancashire Police has some “hard questions” to answer about their decision making.
“Hard questions about the decision making of Lancashire Police have to be asked”
Former Scotland Yard Superintendent @nucchidust criticises investigators over their approach to social media in the case of missing Nicola Bulley.#KayBurley LT pic.twitter.com/wDGdBDysta
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) February 20, 2023
She said “How did they miss that? There were three searches and a private search as well.
“They didn’t share that information with the private search about the vulnerabilities, yet they went on to share it with the wider public.
“They didn’t seem to be able to get a grip on what was happening.”
Police are yet to confirm if the body they recovered is Nicola, as the formal identification process is ongoing.
MailOnline compiled a loose timeline of Faulding’s remarks about the case since he joined the search on February 6.
Related links:
- ‘Agony’ for Nicola Bulley’s family as they await identification of body found in search for missing mum
- Dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s phone speaks out for the first time
- Lancashire police to be questioned over Nicola Bulley case
- Nicola Bulley’s friend says police shared her alcohol struggles to ‘shift focus’ off them
