A team of divers has now been included in the search for Nicola Bulley, who suddenly went missing. The team's forensic expert has promised that if she's in a river near the area where she was declared missing, he'll fish her out in minutes.
Keep reading for details.
Faulding has drafted highly specialized sonar equipment worth about £55,000. It also has a reputation for finding people within the hour and will help in the search for Bulley.
The local police, who have gone far with the search, confirmed that their primary theory is that Bulley fell into the River Wyre, even in the face of zero evidence.
About a week ago, the mother-of-two was declared missing when she disappeared while walking her dog in the village of St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire.
Faulding spoke confidently of finding her within the hour to The Mirror with the help of his high-spec equipment.
"If Nicola is in there, we will find her. If she's there, our sonar will pick her up straight away. I will see a body on the bottom. We are dealing with about ten drownings every summer. We always locate within the hour. It's that quick, it's that good."
The forensic argued that Bulley would not have gone far if she fell in the river due to its shallow depth, but he thinks the cold water shock could have taken her breath away and made her unconscious.
He continued that she could have been able to get herself out of the water and not be dragged down. Faulding added that the dog should also be with the owner, and its absence makes the whole issue very sinister.
Bulley's friend, Emma White, hopes the divers won't find a body resembling hers underwater, as that would rule out the police's theory that she fell into the river.
"We hope they uncover nothing like the police have done for the last ten days, and we hope Nicola is not in that river." she expressed her satisfaction that Faulding's team is assisting the police.
White believes Faulding's equipment is more sophisticated than the police's, and it'll aid their search.
"Peter's here, working with Lancashire Police, and we just have to have everything crossed that the search continues and Nicola is not in that river."
While Nicola's friend doesn't undermine all the police efforts at finding Bulley, she's glad Faulding's team of divers is here.
"We don't want to undermine all the work police have done but when you get that glimmer of hope and you look at what the company does, his records and what he has achieved then you think we need to get this expert here – and we can't thank you enough for bringing the team down."
White expressed her gratitude to the concerned public for the kindness shown towards Bulley's family and stressed that her two girls want her back home as soon as possible. She has known Bulley for about 10 years.
Faulding revealed from his helicopter on the way to the scene this morning that they'll set up their scanners at the site and also work closely with the police to provide extra support.
"We are going to be using a high-frequency side scan sonar. That's going to be used to search down the river, past the weir. That will give us a crystal clear image of anything on the river bed. It shows every rock and every stone."
As part of friends and family's efforts to keep things as normal as possible for her two children, they attended a school disco on Friday evening. Bulley was also due to watch one of her girls perform in a show, which was held without her last weekend.
The last pictures of her seen before her disappearance showed Bulley on her driveway. She was dressed in a long jacket, leggings, and boots as she prepared to drive her two daughters to school on January 27.
Friends of the couple have warned members of the public to stop pointing accusing fingers at Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, as images from the home camera prove his innocence. They also claim he's in pain over the incident but focused on their two daughters through it all.
