‘I thought ‘this is not right”
The dog walker who found the phone of missing mum Nicola Bulley has spoken out for the first time since her disappearance.
The man, who said he was called Ron, spoke to Sky News this morning (February 17) three weeks after the mortgage adviser vanished in St Michael’s on Wyre.
In an extraordinary coincidence he bumped into Sky’s Kay Burley and Inzamam Rashid as he was walking his dog whilst they retraced Nicola’s last movements before her disappearance.
He confirmed he had given a full statement to the police after finding Ms Bulley’s phone on the bench at around 9.30am on January 27.
He said: “Each day something new comes out doesn’t it.”
He didn’t know Nicola but recognised her dog Willow.
“I’d seen both owners of Willow walking this dog in the past, but while I knew their faces I didn’t know their names,’ he said.
Ron added that when he first found the phone he thought “somebody had gone to toilet”.
He added: “I got to about this red brick building here and I thought ‘this is not right.
“Then it was just a progression of things happening, you know. Because of the wallpaper on the phone we found out who the couple were, and the school was contacted and Paul [Ansell, Nicola’s partner] arrived.”
You can watch the full clip below.
Watch the moment #KayBurley and @inzyrashid bump into a dog walker who saw Nicola Bulley's phone on the morning of her disappearance three weeks ago
Sky News are retracing Nicola's final footsteps before going missing.
Latest: https://t.co/WVa3BflGqg
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/MUUBgx9vRs
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 17, 2023
On Wednesday, police held a press conference where they revealed for the first time that the mum-of-two was categorised as “high risk” due to “a number of specific vulnerabilities”.
They did not elaborate further to the media, and said they would not be revealing what these vulnerabilities were out of respect for the privacy of her family.
But later that day, Lancashire Police stated on Facebook that Ms Bulley “in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
They added that these issues had “resurfaced in recent months”.
The force have been on the receiving end of a backlash as a result, with many questioning why they felt the need to share this private information and what point it served in terms of the investigation.
I have just seen the statement from police about #NicolaBulley & her alleged vulnerability
It should NOT have been issued
It does NOTHING to find herIt does, however, give fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths & conspiracy theorists
We don’t need ANY of them— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) February 15, 2023
The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person's private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling. The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation. https://t.co/ArswL8Xvfi
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) February 15, 2023
I am deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley's so-called "vulnerabilities" on menopause & 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. https://t.co/luJ1cqo1wO
— Alicia Kearns MP (@aliciakearns) February 15, 2023
A friend of Nicola’s said they believe police shared the information so they could “shift the focus away from the lack of progress in the case”.
Related links:
- Lancashire police to be questioned over Nicola Bulley case
- Nicola Bulley’s family reveal new info about her health and what may have ’caused this crisis’
- Nicola Bulley’s friend says police shared her alcohol struggles to ‘shift focus’ off them
