Body found searching for Nicola Bulley

The 45-year-old mortgage adviser disappeared in St Michael’s on Wyre while walking her dog after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, from school on January 27.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a body in the river near Rawcliffe Road around 11.35am on Sunday.

A statement said: “An underwater search team and specialized officers subsequently visited the scene, entered the water and unfortunately recovered a body.

“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we cannot say at this time if this is Nicola Bulley.

“Procedures to identify the body are ongoing.

Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen on the morning of January 27 (Family Handout/Lancashire Police/PA)

“We are currently treating the death as unexplained.

“Nicola’s family have been informed of the developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy be respected.”

The investigation into her disappearance has sparked widespread speculation, as well as criticism of the police response.

The force came under fire after making public Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause three weeks after her disappearance.

In a press conference on Wednesday, they announced that the mother-of-two was classified as a “high-risk” missing person “due to a number of specific vulnerabilities” immediately after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance.

People walk past yellow ribbons attached to a bridge over the River Wyre (Jason Roberts/PA)

They later added in a statement that Ms Bulley, from Inskip in Lancashire, had stopped taking her HRT medication.

Public backlash and interventions from both the government and shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper followed, with Lancashire Police confirming a date had been set for an internal review of the inquiry.

A police spokeswoman said: “A review of the investigation is diary-type and is being conducted by our Chief Superintendent, Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables.”