Nicola Bulley’s partner says he’s ‘convinced’ she didn’t fall into river

"People don't just vanish into thin air"

Nicola Bulley's partner has said he is "100 percent" sure she did not fall in the river, as the search for the missing mother continues.

The search for the missing mum has entered its 14th day, with investigators and police still unsure of what has happened to her. 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 was still connected to a work call, and the dog's lead and harness was found a short time later. Lancashire Police's "main working hypothesis" is that she accidentally fell into the river. But on Wednesday night, the specialist group drafted in to help trawl the river for Nicola pulled out of the operation, suggesting she is not where police think she is, and amid calls for an abandoned house to be searched. The search for Nicola has since moved to Morecambe Bay, around 20 miles from where Nicola was last seen. Two boats with specialist police teams were seen in the sea, before heading upstream on either side of the river, with police suggesting finding her "in the open sea becomes more of a possibility". And late on Thursday, it was suggested police are also still trying to track down a "tatty-looking" red van that was parked close to the spot where Nicola disappeared. Police have maintained that they have so far found no evidence of third-party involvement. Nicola's partner has now said he is "100 percent" sure that she did not fall in the river, the Mail reports. In an interview with 5 News' Dan Walker, Ansell said his family is going through "unprecedented hell" but vowed to "never let go", adding: "Nicky would never give up on us ever. She wouldn't give up on anybody. And we're not gonna ever give up on her like, we're going to find her." He continued: "People don't just vanish into thin air, it's absolutely impossible. So something has happened. Something has happened. Find out what it is. Find out what it is.

"There has to be a way to find out what happened, there has to be. You cannot, you cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air. Something happened that day, something."

Describing the impact the disappearance has had on the couple's two children, Ansell said: "What any parent knows you know, that all you wanna do is make everything better for your children isn't it… and I can't you know, I can't do that.

"The only thing, the only thing that I can do is to tell them that everybody is looking for mummy. The best people like, in the world are looking for mummy, just to give them that, you know, that level of hope that they can understand that everything that can be done to find mummy, is being done."

He added: "It just doesn't feel real… I feel like I'm in the Truman show. Like... I honestly believe I'm going to wake up at any moment…how are we even in this? We are good people."

On Friday, one of Nicola's friends spoke of the impact her disappearance has had on the two girls, saying that they ask every day if she is coming home.