'You can see the little girls just deflate.'
As friends of
Nicola Bulley launched a fresh appeal for information, they revealed the devastating toll the search for the mother-of-two is having on her daughters.
The 45-year-old disappeared two weeks ago while walking her dog along the River Wyre. She was last seen at 9.10 am, having earlier dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. Her phone, still connected to a work call, and the dog's lead and harness were found a short time later.
Lancashire Police's
"main working hypothesis" is that she accidentally fell into the river.
Nicola's friends said her daughters "need their mummy" and ask every day if she is coming home.
Emma White is among Nicola's loved ones holding a vigil in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, standing by the main road holding her photograph and urging witnesses to come forward.
"We just need Nikki home for her two beautiful little girls who need their mummy. It's like torture", she said, adding that her loved ones have not given up hope that the mortgage adviser is still alive,
MailOnline reported.
https://twitter.com/AnnaYoussefITV/status/1623992642991259649
https://twitter.com/jonathansamuels/status/1624011207228198912
https://twitter.com/CapitalNWNews/status/1624001517320605697
White continued: "The girls, when they get home from school, ask 'any news on mummy?'
"Paul [Nikki's partner] has to say 'no' and he can see the little girls just deflate. The little girl is saying 'Is my mummy famous?' I didn’t quite know how to answer that myself… for the wrong reasons."
She added: "Bring Nikki home, come to the sofa, with the girls, with Willow and you can have that happy story because that’s what we’re keeping hope for."
Police have maintained that they have so far found no evidence of third-party involvement.
However, they've acknowledged the "possibility" Nicola left the bench where her dog and mobile phone were found via the only pathway not covered by CCTV cameras.
