Nicola Bulley’s final text message revealed before tragic death

A new documentary looks in detail at the case

The mother-of-two was last seen on January 27, 2023 walking her dog Willow along the river Wyre, Lancashire.

The case gained widespread media attention as her family and the emergency services desperately looked for answers.

Tragically, weeks later her body was found and it was deduced that she had accidentally fallen into the water and died.

In a new BBC documentary about her case, her family shared how they really feel about what happened after social media sleuths threw baseless accusations and conspiracy theories around.

Her partner Paul Ansell said it was ‘emotionally draining’ to speak about.

The documentary covers every detail of the case and shows a timeline of what happened before she went missing.

Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, revealed during the inquest last year that Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water.

The court heard from Home Office pathologist Alison Armour on the first day of the inquest.

Armour pieced together Nicola's last day and focused on a text message exchange between her and her friend Lucy, as they were planning a playdate for their daughters.

The night before she disappeared, Nicola text Lucy who replied to her the next morning at 8.13am. She told the court: "I said my daughter would love to come and play."

Then, at 8:59am, Nicola responded, confirming a time with a smiley face. The pair also had plans to meet the next day, as Lucy revealed: "We were going to be meeting up, a group of mums, on the Saturday night for a few drinks."

Armour also conducted Nicola’s post-mortem and confirmed that her cause of death was drowning.

The coroner prompted Armour to summarise what she found, stating: "I conclude the cause of death as drowning. The lungs themselves showed classical features we see in drownings. In my opinion Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water."

The Search for Nicola Bulley is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.