Police officers are looking into a red van spotted close to where Nicola Bulley went missing - with one witness describing it as looking "shabby and suspicious".
Police believe the 45-year-old fell into the River Wyre while walking her dog Willow on January 27.
Although Lancashire Police have dismissed suggestions Nicola is a victim of crime, they have confirmed they are investigating reports into a suspicious-looking vehicle seen in the area on the day.
Owen Humphreys
One resident said they reported a “tatty red van” to police after Nicola went missing.
The van was seen close to the mum of two’s walking route the morning she disappeared.
The unnamed 55-year-old told The Times: "I was on my way to the cake shop when I saw a tatty red van in Hall Lane outside a barn.
"I didn’t think anything at the time, but when I saw Nicola had gone missing, I called 101 and spoke to an operator.
"I contacted the police again and spoke to a police officer.
"It could have been a Renault van. It was the sort of van you can live in."
They added: “It was a shabby looking van, an older model, the kind you can live or work in.
“It was on a quiet lane near a barn, with a couple of houses dotted around.
Peter Byrne
“Obviously, I don’t know whether this van is related to Nicola’s disappearance. All I know is that something grabbed my attention. I felt compelled to tell police about it.
“Even though it was down the road, as the crow flies it’s quite close to where Nicola was last seen.”
The witness said they contacted the police three days after Nicola’s disappearance, and have spoken with them multiple times since, adding: “They were taking my information seriously.
Speaking to GB News after the search for Nicola extended to Morecambe Bay, Nicola Adam, Editor of the Lancashire Post, told Patrick Christys how “agonising” the local community is finding the story.
She said: “People are worried, but the police seem to be so convinced that this is what’s happened that largely in the local area everybody just wants some sort of end to this for the family because knowing nothing is just so agonising for the family, for the residents.
“It’s a small place so everybody knows each other.
“A lot of people know Nicola and her family and their friends. They just want some culmination to it all.
“We’re all desperately hoping there’s a happy end still to be had.”
