NICOLA Bulley was deemed a "high-risk" missing person when she vanished almost three weeks ago, police confirmed today.
The mum-of-two disappeared while walking her dog Willow along the River Wyre in St Michael's, Lancashire, on January 27.
As soon as this was reported to cops, she was categorised as "high-risk" due to a "number of specific vulnerabilities".
This means there was a "real and immediate danger" to Nicola's safety or that of the public.
Speaking at a press conference, Lancashire Police detective superintendent Rebecca Smith said: "That is normal for a missing person with the information we were in possession of."
She confirmed this decision was made after speaking to Nicola's partner Paul Ansell but refused to go into more detail.
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DS Smith described the matter as "personal and private", adding that she wanted to respect the family, who are going through "unimaginable pain and distress".
Generally, police consider a person's age, whether they need medication and if they have financial, employment or relationship problems when assessing the level of risk.
They will also look at if the disappearance is out of character, if there is a suspicion of murder and if they are on the Child Protection Register.
Detectives today revealed they have found no evidence of a "criminal aspect or third party involvement" in Nicola's case, nor that she left the area voluntarily.
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It means their "main line of inquiry" remains that the mortgage adviser fell into the water at around 9.15am.
But the force insisted investigators are still "open-minded" around these three main hypotheses.
Nicola Bulley cops today revealed:
- Detectives revealed in a press conference today they are investigating three possible scenarios over her disappearance
- But cops insisted there is still no suggestion of a third party being involved
- Police are now taking over her social media accounts as part of the investigation
- Follow our blog for the latest news
Setting out the probe in more detail than police "normally" would, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said the scale has been "unprecedented".
Nearly 40 detectives have sifted through hundreds of hours of CCTV, dashcam footage and tip-offs from the public.
They have scoured 300 premises, interviewed 300 people and received some 1,500 pieces of information.
DS Smith said "further work" is needed on digital enquiries.
Detectives sought to combat disinformation about Nicola's disappearance amid growing speculation about what might have happened to her and criticism of the police effort.
This included clarification that a red van seen in the area is not being treated as suspicious.
Instead, police are hoping to track down the driver as they seek to identify everyone in the area that morning.
Asked if she hoped to find her alive, DS Smith said: "I hope with all my heart that we find Nicola Bulley alive more than anything."
Police will today examine Nicola's social media accounts, which the family is aware of.
DS Smith warned this "might show Nicola as being online", adding: "I want to make this really clear, we have control of this phone.
"This will be the police that is doing these enquiries and nobody needs to be concerned or contact the incident room about this."
'STRUGGLING FOR ANSWERS'
DS Smith also touched on Nicola's Fitbit, which has been a main focus for web sleuths examining her disappearance.
She said expert technicians had looked at the watch but there is "no further information" as it had not been synced for several days.
The update comes after police today searched a pumping station close to where Nicola was last seen.
Her partner had called for more extensive land searches to be carried out as he is "100 per cent" sure she's not in the river.
Paul is said to be frustrated at the "lack of willpower" among police trying to find out what happened to his girlfriend.
Diver Peter Faulding, who is in close contact with the family, said: "Paul’s just frustrated. Obviously, he’s ripping himself to pieces at the moment.
"He’s devastated and struggling to get answers. That’s the problem.
"The family are concerned that the search of the surrounding area needs to be done more thoroughly."
Speaking about how police have handled the case, he told MailOnline: "There’s a feeling that there’s just a lack of imagination and willpower."
The nation has been gripped by Nicola's disappearance following the discovery of her mobile, which was still connected to a work conference call, on a bench along the towpath.
She is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair.
Nicola was last seen wearing an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket with a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat underneath and black tight-fitting jeans.
She had long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit on.
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Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.
Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27, or ring 999 for immediate sightings.
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