In search of Nicola
Following Nicola Bulley’s disappearance, social media “sleuths” added to her family’s agony. Now they want to tell her story…
BBC
- Kate Battersby
For 23 days during her disappearance at the start of last year, the loved ones of Nicola Bulley faced a social media onslaught. Self-appointed “sleuths” arrived in their neighbourhood, not only scouring gardens and private land around the riverside path where she was last seen, but digging for her body, while broadcasting themselves live on TikTok.
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Paul Ansell, Nicola’s frantic partner of 12 years and the father of her children, desperately hoped she’d walk through their front door. The 45-year-old had not returned home after dropping their two daughters, then aged nine and six, at school in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre and going on her usual riverside dog walk.
Lancashire Police believed that Nicola – whose phone was found on a bench, still connected to a work call, with her springer spaniel Willow close by – had fallen into the river. But with no evidence of suspicious activity or third party involvement and extensive searches involving divers, helicopters, sniffer dogs and drones finding nothing, a vacuum ensued.
BBC
Thousands of social media commentators notched up clicks by sharing baseless theories. Paul was accused by TikTokers, who chose to ignore every established fact, of murdering her. While desperate for news of Nicola and trying to care for his two children amid their mother’s disappearance on 27 January 2023, he received direct abuse on his phone.
Now Paul, along with Nicola’s heartbroken parents Ernie and Dot, and her sister Louise Cunningham, have participated in a moving documentary, The Search for Nicola Bulley, which takes viewers through the period in which her family desperately waited for news before her body was finally found.
Our sole aim is to ensure Nikki has the legacy she deserves
“We wanted to do this for Nikki,” say the family in a collective statement. “Only we can speak about her as a mummy, partner, daughter and sister... Our sole aim is to ensure Nikki has the legacy she deserves.”
“The family tell their story in their own words, unfiltered,” says director Rachel Lob-levyt. “So much of what happened to them was about the exposure of their lives to the public.” Have they seen the film? “We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult – obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki.
“At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny. The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do. The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. In the past we’d have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated. Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information.”
With the public’s fascination with Nicola having added to the family’s agony, Lob-levyt acknowledges it’s reasonable to ask how they hope viewers of the documentary will differ from those who followed every move on social media at the time of her disappearance. “That’s a good question,” she says. “What hasn’t been done is people listening to the family, and to some extent the police, the media and the social media commentators. It’s only when you hear what that was really like that you understand what happened, and can learn from it.”
While the investigation was ongoing, the police’s poor media communication – including revealing private details of Nicola’s struggles with perimenopause and alcohol – only fuelled fevered speculation.
Getty
Even when her body was eventually found a mile downstream on 19 February, members of the public (not journalists) crossed police cordons to take photos of her. One man was arrested after videoing the removal of her body from the river, to use on his social media.
The inquest in June last year found that Nicola died from drowning as a result of cold water shock, after accidentally falling in the river. While the frenzy abated, some have continued to perpetuate theories online.
The documentary also features interviews with some social media commentators, to “fully understand why events took the course they did,” says Lob-levyt. But what shines through the programme is love, everyone’s love for Nicola, and the love shared between Paul, Nicola’s parents and her sister.
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“I met them around a dozen times and it was so apparent from the start that they really care for him,” says Lob-levyt. “Looking after their girls is a huge focus of Paul’s life now, with the support of Ernie, Dot and Louise. He’s coping. There will always be sadness in their lives because of her loss. But the care and warmth they give each other have created strength, which has got them through this time.”
Authors
Kate Battersby
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