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04th Oct 2024

Nicola Bulley’s final text message revealed before tragic death

Zoe Hodges

A new documentary looks in detail at the case.

The final text British woman Nicola Bulley sent before disappearing last year has been revealed.

The mother-of-two went missing on January 27, 2023 while walking her dog Willow along the River Wyre in Lancashire.

The case gained widespread media attention as her family and the emergency services desperately looked for answers.

Tragically, weeks later, her body was found and it was deduced that she had accidentally fallen into the water and died.

In a new BBC documentary about her case – titled The Search For Nicola Bulley – her family shared their feelings about the aftermath of Ms. Bulley’s disappearance when social media sleuths threw baseless accusations and conspiracy theories around.

Her partner Paul Ansell said it was “emotionally draining” to speak about.

Nicola Bulley

The documentary covers every detail of the case and shows a timeline of the hours before she went missing.

Home Office pathologist Alison Armour revealed during the inquest last year that Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water.

Armour also pieced together Nicola’s last day and focused on a text message exchange between her and her friend Lucy, as they were planning a playdate for their daughters.

The night before she disappeared, Nicola texted Lucy who replied to her the next morning at 8.13am. Lucy told the court: “I said my daughter would love to come and play.”

Then, at 8:59am, Nicola responded, confirming a time with a smiley face.

The pair also had plans to meet the next day, as Lucy revealed: “We were going to be meeting up, a group of mums, on the Saturday night for a few drinks.”

Armour conducted Nicola’s post-mortem and confirmed that her cause of death was drowning.

“I conclude the cause of death as drowning. The lungs themselves showed classical features we see in drownings. In my opinion Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water,” she explained.

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