THE dive expert who scoured the River Wyre searching for Nicola Bulley has vowed to find her in the woods.
Peter Faulding, who led a three-day Sonar search for the mum alongside cops, says he is now “confident” the 45-year-old is not in the water.
2Nicola was last seen on January 27 on a riverbank St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.10amCredit: instagram
2Peter Faulding has vowed to find Nicola Bulley in the woodsCredit: PAHe reckons she is on land and insists “I’ll put my back out” trying to solve the riddle of her disappearance.
The dive veteran of 25-years told MailOnline: “If someone’s in the woods I will find them.
“We can cover so much ground in the local area, but people who are often abducted or murdered, generally don’t go that far.”
The mum-of-two was last seen on January 27 on a riverbank St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.10am.
That morning, she dropped her two daughters off at school and joined a work call just after 9am as she walked her dogs.
Despite a 19-day search, police are yet to find any trace of Nicola, from nearby Inskip.
Mr Faulding, CEO of Specialist Group International, warned there are “huge areas” to search for Nicola but promised to “really work hard on this one”.
But in a grim forecast, he told Express.co.uk: “I’m looking now at possible deposition sites.
“I’m talking to the family and obviously have vast experience finding buried bodies.”
It is unclear exactly when and where Mr Faulding will begin trawling surrounding woodland for Nicola.
But he added it was time to now consider all options, including abduction or that she is being held somewhere.
The diver ended search efforts with his team from SGI on February 8 having found “no trace” of Nicola on the River Wyre.
ANGLERS
It comes just days after a report from a potential witness who claims to have seen two men acting suspiciously on the river the day before and the morning Nicola vanished.
Details being probed by police include a report of two men trying to hide their faces near Nicola’s dog-walking route the day before she went missing.
A local said the pair were carrying fishing rods and appeared to be wearing hats or hoods.
The witness said: “It was very strange. It made me uneasy.”
He spotted one of the men again the following day but didn’t think much of it until he heard the news of Nicola’s disappearance.
On reflection, he said, it was odd that they didn’t appear to be carrying a tackle or bait box and were wrapped up warm when the weather was mild.
It was very strange. It made me uneasyLocal describing suspect men
It comes as cops searching for Nicola are looking at who had permits to fish the river around the time she vanished.
Cops are also trawling through security camera footage from the area and trying to trace the owner of a shabby-looking red van spotted outside a barn on the morning Nicola vanished.
Tree surgeon Denis Rowlandson, 47, said of the vehicle: “I don’t know anybody with a red van who should be parked outside that barn or near the entrance.
“There’s no reason to be there at all without my permission.”
And officers are said to be compiling a list of all registered sex offenders in the area as is protocol, according to a former Scotland Yard detective.
Story Credit: thesun.co.uk