Nicola Bulley Left Her House to Walk Her Dog in January 2023 — The Dog Returned but She Did Not

This is not another story centered around a woman who was brutally murdered. Some of the elements of a good true crime documentary live inside it, but the end is sad in a different way. When Nicola Bulley disappeared in January 2023 while walking her dog in the village of St. Michael's on Wyre in England, all signs pointed to a possible crime. In fact, it was likened to the murder of Laci Peterson with the connective tissue being a dog.

The response to the missing woman was swift with media and social media reporting on it while demanding answers. The first person authorities questioned was Bulley's long-time partner, Paul Ansell, but he was ruled out immediately. He would later criticize investigators for how they handled her case. You see, Bulley wasn't murdered, but the world didn't seem to care about the facts. It's unclear what people cared about more, justice or fame. So, what happened to Nicola Bulley? Details to follow.

On the morning of Jan. 27, 2023, Bulley dropped her daughters off at school before taking the family dog for a walk. According to The Telegraph, shortly before 9:00 a.m. she sent an email to her boss and texted a friend about arranging a playdate for their children. She then logged onto Teams for a meeting but was on mute with her video off. A coworker said this was not unusual for Bulley.

At 9:20, Bulley had set her phone down on the bench by the riverbank. Her dog was off its leash which led authorities to believe she got up to tend to it, leaving the phone behind. Less than 15 minutes later, a passerby found Bulley's dog wandering around and located her phone, still on the bench. The phone was still connected to the Teams call which had ended three minutes before the good samaritan found it.

Ansell was at home, expecting Bulley to return at her usual time around 10:00 a.m. but when he still hadn't heard from her at 10:30, he tried calling her. As Ansell was contemplating going to look for Bulley by the river, his children's school called to let him know they had their dog as well as her phone. That's when the police got involved.

Police conducted what they referred to as an exhaustive search around the bench, as well as the river. Strangely, the bench was never removed and taken to a lab for testing. Former detective Martyn Underhill told The Telegraph, "If Nicola had been attacked there could be blood spatterings on it. Sadly it’s still in situ. It’s questionable, to put it bluntly."

After nearly three weeks of searching, lead investigator Rebecca Smith said in a press conference that she believed Bulley had "gone into the river," but couldn't be "100 percent sure that was the case." In the meantime, friends and family launched online campaigns asking for information. This prompted an outcry on social media which led to some people reaching out to Ansell in order to accuse him of being involved.

In a BBC documentary titled The Search for Nicola Bulley, Ansell said he was getting all sorts of hateful messages. People were saying things like, "We know what you did." It only added to his stress. While this was happening, investigators made the decision to release deeply personal information about Bulley. They revealed she had turned to drinking while dealing with menopause. "Nikki would be mortified about what has happened and how it came about," said Ansell in the documentary.

Bulley's body was found on Feb. 19, 2023 and was later ruled an accidental drowning. There was nothing to suggest she had harmed herself, but the damage was done. Based on what authorities chose to reveal to the public about Bulley's mental state, many believe she did take her own life.