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The Nicola Bulley Disappearance (St Michael's On Wyre, Lancashire)

catseye said:
I did posit somewhere earlier up this thread that the police may not be sharing previous suicide attempts or reported suicide ideation.
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I didn't see that.
Yup, if she'd been in such a frame of mind the police might be working on that.

It'd have to come from a trustworthy source though, and Nicola isn't here to ask.
 
catseye said:
I did posit somewhere earlier up this thread that the police may not be sharing previous suicide attempts or reported suicide ideation.
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Being suicidal is not a permanent condition. Just because someone once considered it does not meant that it should be assumed that they would stay in that mindset.
 
Cochise said:
Being suicidal is not a permanent condition. Just because someone once considered it does not meant that it should be assumed that they would stay in that mindset.
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This is true, but it would depend on how long ago she'd expressed it, whether she was currently under treatment for depression and whether she was considered at any risk of depression returning.

At 45 Nicola would be perimenopausal, and I can personally testify this can be an unpleasant time to be female.
 
Cochise said:
Being suicidal is not a permanent condition. Just because someone once considered it does not meant that it should be assumed that they would stay in that mindset.
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True, but if they did feel strongly enough that way to talk about it they might not be over it.

Many people talk about it for some time off and on before acting on it.
Their relations can become used to hearing it and might not believe anything will happen.
When the person eventually carries it out, the family might blame themselves for not seeing the signs, when they have done their best and been emotionally exhausted by the effort.

I have heard many stories like this in the suicide bereavement support group I help run.
 
Would someone with immediate thoughts of topping themselves go and take their dog for a walk?
Seems unlikely.
 
Also, it occurs to me, back in the day, a case like this would have brought a load of 'cranks' out of the woodwork claiming 'psychic' visions of her etc, and/or the police actually bothering to ask a 'medium' for any insight they might be able to bring to the table.
Wasn't there a TV programme recently about these sorts of 'psychic' detectives or something?
 
bugmum said:
At the local inquiry into the Plymouth shootings, lawyers for the families are asking why even farmers should be allowed to possess guns at home...
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Because everyone faced with a rare and unfamiliar situation becomes an instant expert on how the law should be?

For a farmer, a gun is a tool that they may need to use at any time for pest control on their land.

Chef's knives, joiners' nail guns, and cars are all dangerous too. Let's ban them because we don't personally need them or understand why someone else might.

Something must be done, and then something must be done about the consequences of doing something - and so ad infinitum.
 
LymeswoldSnork said:
Mods: is it appropriate for us to be speculating to such an extent about a missing person investigation which is still very much live?

I'm not suggesting that any poster has overstepped a mark, and I think everyone is being more respectful than commenters on some newspaper sites; but I'd say the case hasn't even become "Fortean" yet. I'd feel more comfortable if we waited until the search has been wound down, or at least put on the back-burner, so that we could then regard it as a historic unsolved mystery. (Though of course I hope the lady will be found long before that might happen, and that it will be a happy ending.)
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Sorry, I missed this, although we are keeping an eye on the thread.

We're not going to intervene on the grounds of its being an ongoing investigation; it would seem to be a good opportunity to see a prima facie mysterious disappearance and the subsequent investigation unfold in real time.

Where we might act:

A) If posters overstep the bounds of good taste, shall we say, in their speculation. I am still mindful of the hours I spent removing horrible posts from the Maddy McCann thread.

B) If and when legal proceedings begin and any case becomes sub judice.

In the meantime, our concern is that people are running off on lengthy tangents about farmers, the legality of firearms, and livestock bothering.

Please stop this.
 
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Trevp666 said:
Would someone with immediate thoughts of topping themselves go and take their dog for a walk?
Seems unlikely.
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You can’t apply rational logic to suicidal planning. Nicola may have been trying desperately to keep it together and appear ‘normal’ for as long as possible or she may have given it no thought at all. If this is a case of self harm, we will never know if it was a spur of the moment decision or had been planned for weeks. If it was premeditated she may taken the dog with her because:

a) it was part of her daily routine and deviating from that would indicate that something was up (the same applies to the Teams call)
b) the dog was happy at the riverside location and she wanted to spend her last moments with it while it had fun
c) she knew it was likely that any search for her would start at the riverside and the dog would be safe left alone because it would be found quickly

Suicide is a complicated thing.
 
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Trevp666 said:
Would someone with immediate thoughts of topping themselves go and take their dog for a walk?
Seems unlikely.
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Yes.

I am closely acquainted with one person who has had desultorily suicidal moods for whom dog-walking has proved an immediate tonic and a chronic therapy.

Outside, fresh air, brisk walk, uncomplicated companionship with a doting and loyal animal.
 
ChrisBoardman said:
Has anyone been following this case, missing 5 days now?

The mystery of the mother who vanished while walking her dog: Last known movements of Nicola Bulley who was still connected to a work call when she disappeared on towpath after dropping her kids off at school​

By Dan Sales For Mailonline11:10 GMT 01 Feb 2023 , updated 11:23 GMT 02 Feb 2023

CHRONOLOGY at Link:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...alking-dog-known-movements-Nicola-Bulley.html

Her dog was found wandering and her mobile phone found on a bench:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...imeter-deserted-house-hunt-Nicola-Bulley.html
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Here’s a thing that has been nagging me. I recall a similar thing happening in Strood, Rochester Kent in 1967. They never found the lady.

Here is a news article from the time:-

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/i-was-first-on-scene-when-90ft-hole-swallowed-woman-246522/
 
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Ack. Starting to look...problematic.

Anyhow, Dogs.

I am a dog admirer.

I admire dogs and then I admire the vets bills that they seem to attract.

Yesterday was a terrier type whose blindness was miraculously cured by a six grand operation (not including ongoing aftercare)....four figures are common sums brought up in conversations.

And then I admire the (lack of) money in my wallet and go my happy way.
 
I don't think you can ever say 'oh, they did such-and-such, so they can't have been suicidal.' But some people can behave apparently normally right up until they take their own life. Some can seem happier than they have for ages, because they have made up their mind. Some try to complete normal tasks so as not to leave things 'undone' when they go - they can wash up, tidy the house, walk the dog and lay out the tea things, for example. And relatives will use this as a reason to disbelieve suicide.
 
catseye said:
I don't think you can ever say 'oh, they did such-and-such, so they can't have been suicidal.' But some people can behave apparently normally right up until they take their own life. Some can seem happier than they have for ages, because they have made up their mind. Some try to complete normal tasks so as not to leave things 'undone' when they go - they can wash up, tidy the house, walk the dog and lay out the tea things, for example. And relatives will use this as a reason to disbelieve suicide.
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For sure. When people hit that mindset, they might kill themselves apparently on impulse, after becoming calm and acting normally for a while. This can put their family off the scent and give them a chance to slip away and do it.

As I've mentioned, I've heard this described so many times. Can't repeat any particular example out of respect but let's say that once someone has seriously expressed suicidal thoughts, while they might not repeat it aloud there's no guarantee they're not still brooding on it.
 
Earthly oddity said:
Having just caught up with the news about Nicola's problems before she went missing - poor woman. I am not sure this information should have been released publicly, but it is in the public domain now.

It is still a mysterious disappearance.
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Agree but it was probably because it was still better than all the shit people were making up. :(
 
ChrisBoardman said:
I thought is was strange she was reported missing at 11am when she was last seen at 9:10am.
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Me too. Someone saw Nicola circa 9.10 am. I read that someone saw the phone and dog etc around 9.35 am. This person presumably didn't report it to the police straight away.

I thought that a bit odd. It sounded as if more than one person saw the phone etc, so the latter person reported it. Or the same person went back and reported it later. Between 9.35 am and 11am, when it was finally reported - a lot could have happened.....

Basically it led to a terrible delay in investigations at the very start.
 
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