Nicola Bulley’s partner has revealed his minute-by-minute movements in the hours when the mother-of-two vanished.
Devastated , 44, said he was ‘at home drinking tea’ when the 45-year-old disappeared.
Mother-of-two mortgage adviser Nicola Bulley disappeared two weeks ago while walking the family’s dog along the River Wyre, Lancashire.She was last seen at 9.10am by a fellow dog walker.
On Friday night, Mr Ansell detailed his movements in an interview with for ‘Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley?’
On January 27, the family followed their morning routine and the only thing which was different was that it wasn’t quite as rushed to get the children off to school.
Paul Ansell, 44, (left) accompanied by 45-year-old Nicola Bulley’s beloved Springer spaniel Willow, was interviewed by Channel 5 News’s Dan Walker (right)
The father-of-two detailed his movements minute-by-minute on the day his partner vanished during a dog walk in Lancashire
A police Search and Rescue team in Knott End-on-Sea, Lancashire, on the southern side of Morecambe Bay on Friday morning
People are being urged to call police if they have any dashcam footage from the time she vanished
Paul Ansell said he is ‘100 per cent’ the mortgage advisor, 45, did not fall in the River Wyre.” itemprop=”description” />
Paul Ansell said he is ‘100 per cent’ the mortgage advisor, 45, did not fall in the River Wyre.website preload=”none”>
Mr Ansell said: ‘Nothing was out of the ordinary, everything was normal.
‘I work for a US firm so my hours are like six hours behind UK time.
‘I usually start a little bit later in the morning.When Nikki takes the girls to school, I then know I’ve got an hour to myself.
‘I went in the house, put the kettle on, made a cup of tea, went into the living room and thought I’ve got on an hour now to chill and get myself ready for the day.’
Nicola typically came home from her dog walks at around 9.45am, or 10am ‘at a push’.
When she didn’t return on January 27, Mr Ansell said he wasn’t ‘massively concerned’ at first.He started to worry at 10.30am.
Mr Ansell said: ‘I thought you know, she’s quite, quite late now.
‘More late than usual. So I tried ringing her phone. And there was no answer. I tried ringing again on WhatsApp.And again, there was no answer. I tried the mobile again and no answer.
‘Now I sort of started to get a bit panicky.
‘That’s when I thought I’m gonna have to go down there and see if she’s alright.
‘See if I can see the car or see what’s going on.
‘I still expected that I’d just get there and there she is.’
Mr Ansell said he usually goes to the gym on Fridays at lunchtime.
He said: ‘I quickly got my gym stuff on. I just thought basically I’m gonna go out, find her, come home, do a bit of work.’
As he was getting ready to leave, the receptionist at their daughters’ school rang and told him Nicola’s phone had been found on a bench.
He jumped in the car and drove to the river, where he calmed Springer spaniel Willow and was handed Nicola’s phone.
He told Dan Walker: ‘I knew straight away that it wasn’t normal’, adding that he became ‘extremely concerned’ knowing Ms Bulley would not have left Willow alone in the field.
‘I know that never in a million years would she leave Willow.Willow is like our third child.’
He added: ‘People don’t just vanish into thin air. It’s absolutely impossible. So something has happened. Something has happened. Find out what it is.
‘You cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air.’
Mr Ansell’s full interview will appear on ‘Vanished: Where’s Nicola Bulley?’ at 9pm on Channel 5 tonight
Lancashire Police’s working hypothesis has long been that Ms Bulley (pictured with her partner) ended up in the water after she mysteriously vanished from St Michael’s on Wyre on January 27
Mr Ansell said: ‘I want every house, every garage, every out building, the land scrutinised.I want it all searched. I want it all scrutinised, every piece of it’
A map of the area showing the location of the broken camera, the path leading to Garstang Road that is not covered by CCTV (top right circle) and a riverside path leading from the Wyreside Farm Caravan Park through to the A586 (left circle)
After joining others who were searching the area, the group decided to call 999.
The police told him to go home with Willow.
Mr Ansell said: ‘I’d gone home then, taken Willow back, a police officer had come to the house and although I was obviously extremely worried and concerned I still expected any second they’d just go, “oh, found her”.
‘That never happened.The day then just spiralled and end of the day came and no answers.
‘Here we are, two weeks later.’
The distraught father-of-two insisted Nicola ‘is coming home’ as he launched a fresh appeal in the two-week search for the missing mother, who he had been planning to marry with his daughters as her bridesmaids.
He also said he believes something must have happened to his partner ‘in the village’ of St Michael’s on Wyre.
Mr Ansell said he is ‘100 per cent’ sure that the mortgage adviser did not fall in the River Wyre in Lancashire.
He revealed they had frequently spoken about getting married, but had to put their plans on hold due to the pandemic – adding he hopes to be able to still marry her.
Paul Ansell, right, pictured with his partner Nicola Bulley – who vanished two weeks ago while walking her dog near the River Wyre in Lancashire
Mr Ansell today declared ‘something happened that day’ as the search for the missing mother hits the two-week mark.He is pictured walking with Dan Walker and Willow the dog
Mr Ansell told journalist Dan Walker they had spoken about marriage ‘many times before’ but put plans on hold when they had their two daughters.
He said Nicola had hoped they could be bridesmaids.He added: ‘We talked about it again seriously at the beginning of 2020. And that was when we really started to actually look at getting something sort of in the calendar.
‘And then obviously the whole covid thing hit which just, I mean, everybody’s life was just thrown up into the air.’
He is now hoping for Ms Bulley to return home safely and they can still plan a wedding for the future.
Mr Ansell confirmed he does not believe she fell into the River Wyre, but says someone in the village must know something.
He said the river path, which Ms Bulley walked often, was ‘about as well known a walk to us as you could possibly do’.
He added: ‘On the very odd occasion when you see somebody that you don’t know, they stand out like a sore thumb.
‘So whatever has happened, in my eyes, has to be somebody who knows the local area.And the fact that nothing’s been seen or heard, I just truly believe that it’s something in the village.’
Mr Ansell’s theory is in direct contradiction to the stance of Lancashire Police who say Ms Bulley most likely fell into the cold water while wearing two heavy coats and drowned.
The police declined to feature on Channel 5’s programme.
After searching the river, they have started to look out to sea in Morecambe Bay.
Underwater search experts have publicly stated they do not believe Ms Bulley is in the river after conducting extensive searches.
Appearing on the programme, ex-police officers stressed the need to ‘keep all options open’ and continue communicating with the public and the press.
Speaking to 5 News’s Dan Walker Mr Ansell vowed to ‘never let go’, adding: ‘Nikki would never give up on us ever.She wouldn’t give up on anybody. And we’re not going to ever give up on her. We’re going to find her.’
He described his partner as a ‘pillar of strength to our family’, adding that without her there is a hole which ‘is bigger than you can possibly imagine.’
Mr Ansell described the morning before Ms Bulley disappeared and sextv video free said he even took beloved dog Willow back to the scene to see if she would provide any hints as to where his partner went.
Although he doesn’t believe Nicola fell into the river, he said he ‘cannot fault the police in any of this’.
