The body discovered Sunday in a river in north-west England was that of a mother whose disappearance in late January had fascinated the British and turned on social networks, confirmed the police on Monday, February 20. “Unfortunately, we can now confirm that we recovered Nicola Bulley from the River Wyre yesterday,” Lancashire police confirmed in a brief press conference.

The 45-year-old mother was last seen in the River Wyre on January 27 walking her dog after dropping her two girls off at school. His phone was still connected to an online conference when he was found in a bank. His dog had not gone into the water, some saw it as a sign that the mother of the family could not have fallen into the river.

The body was found approximately a mile from where she was last seen. The police had from the beginning ruled out the hypothesis of a criminal act. The beatings had produced nothing, no more than the searches in the river by specialized teams.

Family denounces tabloid behavior

The police had revealed a few days before that Nicola Bulley was considered a “vulnerable” person due to problems with alcohol and difficulties related to premenopause. She had been criticized for spreading these detailsbut this announcement was apparently intended to prevent these details from being sold to the tabloid press.

In a statement, the family denounced on Monday the ‘appalling’ behavior of ‘the press and members of the public’. “The press and members of the public have accused his father (of two little girls) of misconduct, misquoted and vilified friends and family. He is absolutely appalling, they should be held accountableit cannot happen to another family,” he said. The family recounted in particular how some televisions had tried to communicate with her on Sunday night after her body was found, despite the fact that she had asked everyone to respect her privacy.