The news comes as police issued a dispersal order to stop members of the public searching abandoned buildings
People are reportedly travelling miles to "take selfies" on the bench where
Nicola Bulley's phone was found almost two weeks ago when she disappeared while walking her dog.
The news comes as the specialist group drafted in by Lancashire Police on Monday to help trawl the River Wyre for the 45-year-old
pulled out of the operation on Wednesday night, suggesting the mortgage broker is not where police think she is, and amid calls for an
abandoned house to be searched.
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Nicola was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre at 9.10am on 27 January, having earlier dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. Her phone, still connected to a work call, and the dogs lead and harness were found a short time later. Police are yet to account for a missing 10-minute period but their
"main working hypothesis" is that she accidentally fell in the river.
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ITV reported on Thursday that visitors have started showing up at the sight, travelling from as far afield as Lancaster and Manchester, with some reportedly posing for selfies with posters, as well as with the bench on the river bank.
Chairman of St Michael’s Parish Council, Giles Phillips, condemned those taking pictures, saying Nicola's disappearance and the subsequent search for her, "is not a spectator sport".
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"It would be helpful if people could let the authorities do their jobs. We don’t want anyone to hinder the investigation. This is not a spectator sport," he said, according to ITV.
"Most of the area is private land - the public access is very minimal and can’t absorb the numbers of people who are coming every day.
"They aren’t searching for somebody - they are watching someone else search for somebody. We would rather people stayed home or took a day trip to the Lake District."
On Thursday, search teams moved to Morecambe Bay, with specialists concentrating on the mouth of the river, amid the increasing possibility Nicola might be in the open sea.
Follows calls for police to search the abandoned house, and news that people had been stopped from doing so, Lancashire Police warned it "will not tolerate" people committing criminal offences by breaking into empty or derelict riverside properties to try to find Nicola.
Detectives warned members of the public not to "take the law into their own hands" and not to direct online abuse at people connected to the investigation.
Police were forced to issue a dispersal order after a group travelled to Lancashire from the Liverpool area, intent on searching the building.
"This followed reports of individuals – from outside the area of St Michael’s - filming on social media close to properties," Lancashire Police said in a statement.
"The order will remain in place for 48 hours and gives officers the power to disperse anyone committing anti-social behaviour.
"Two dispersal notices were issued, and a number of other people were warned about their behaviour. We hope that will give people some reassurance that we will not tolerate criminality, including trespass and criminal damage.
"We are also aware of a number of grossly offensive comments being made on social media and elsewhere. We are looking into these and will not hesitate to take action where appropriate."
In a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Sally Riley said that police had searched derelict riverside properties with the permission of owners.
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