Lancashire Police say that their working hypothesis remains that Nicola, 45, sadly fell into the river for some reason, but remain open minded, and we continuing to carry out a huge number of enquiries.
“Our priority throughout this investigation has been on finding Nicola and providing answers for her family. They are being supported by specially trained officers.” they say
In a new statement released today Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell said:
“It’s been ten days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back. This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support. We are also really grateful to Peter and his team from SGI for coming up and helping support the work of Lancashire Police as they continue their investigation. If anyone has any information which could help find Nicola, I urge them to get in touch with the police and help us provide the answers we all so badly need.”
Police’s CCTV enquiries have focused on Nicola’s movements and whether she could have left the fields near to the river, whether that be via Allotment Lane, the river path leading to Garstang Road, or by Rowanwater at the top of the upper field.
Most of the sightings of Nicola have been by witnesses who knew her and that has enabled us to plot her movements from the school, along the river path and into the field.
Police say with confidence that by reviewing CCTV, Nicola has not left the field during the key times via Rowanwater, either through the site itself or via the piece of land at the side and that she did not return from the fields along Allotment Lane or via the path at the rear of the Grapes pub onto Garstang Road.
Their enquiries now focus on the river path which leads from the fields back to Garstang Road – for that they need drivers and cyclists who travelled that way on the morning of January 27 to make contact.
Police will be making contact with drivers, who we believe were travelling down Garstang Road that morning via letter.
A search team from Specialist Group International (SGI) are assisting with the search of the river
Detective Supt Rebecca Smith said: “The team working on this investigation are completely dedicated and determined to find Nicola.
“As a mother myself, I can’t even begin to imagine what her two children are going through.Please be reassured that our sole focus is Nicola and that we are doing everything we can to find her.It is not possible to provide every piece of information to the public because to do so would detract from the investigation, but I’d like to thank everyone who has assisted us so far and for the support provided to Nicola’s family at this extremely difficult time.
