Seven bombshells from Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell’s TV interview – as he reveals what he thinks happened to her
MISSING Nicola Bulley’s partner made seven bombshell revelations during his TV interview as he revealed what he thinks happened to her.
Nicola vanished 14 days ago in Lancashire and police have launched a high-profile search for the mum-of-two.
In a bid to help locate her, Paul Ansell gave a heartbreaking TV interview with Dan Walker on Channel 5.
During the 75-minute interview he made a number of revelations, indicating he believed a local could be to blame and that he expected to be a suspect in her disappearance.
Local to blame
He told Dan that he suspected a local person was involved.
Paul said: “People don’t just vanish into thin air. It’s absolutely impossible. So something has happened. Whatever has happened, in my eyes, has to be somebody who knows the local area. You would only know that area, by local, it’s a local area.”
He added that he and Nicola has been walking the path she disappeared from since they had met 12 years ago.
Paul said that they usually saw the same faces every single day but on the very odd occasion you did see someone you didn’t know, they stood out “like a sore thumb”.
He said: “The fact that nothing’s been seen or heard, I just truly believe that it’s something in the village.”
Nicola had dropped off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school before going on her usual walk when she vanished.
Her phone, still connected to a call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was discovered on a bench overlooking the river.
Although a huge search has been launched by Lancashire Police, so far no trace of her has been discovered.
Extend the search
Despite the ongoing search, Paul said he wanted it to be expanded to cover all outbuildings and homes and gardens in the area.
Paul added: “I want every house, every garage, every outbuilding, the land, scrutinised.
“I want it all searched, I want it all scrutinised, every piece of it.”
Expected to be a suspect
He revealed to Dan he had expected the cops to treat him as a possible suspect in the missing person case.
Paul said: “I expected that. I said to them ‘do it and get that out the way’.”
He added he urged police to “focus on finding her”.
Paul said: “Some of the things that people say are just, I mean, just ridiculous, aren’t they? I read one that said ‘the police need to look at the partner’. And I’m sort of like, well, yeah, that’s the first thing that they do. Like of course it is.
“I knew that that would happen, you know, on the first day.”
How phone was discovered
Paul revealed that Nicola usually walked their dog Willow after dropping off their kids at school and she would return home at around 10am.
When she wasn’t back by 10.15am he just assumed she was chatting to another dog walker or friend she had bumped into.
However, he became concerned when she wasn’t back by 10.30am.
Paul said: “That’s when I thought you know, she’s quite, quite late now. More late than usual. I tried ringing her phone. And there was no answer. I tried ringing again on WhatsApp. And again, there was no answer. I tried the mobile again and no answer.
“Now I sort of started to get a bit panicky I think.”
Being concerned he started to get ready to head along the path “to see if she’s alright”.
He added: “I was going to leave and then the phone rang. It was the school and it was the receptionist at school.
“She said ‘Mr Ansell, it’s a bit of a weird one. It’s a bit of a weird one. But we found Willow and Nikki’s phone on the bench, and the harness halfway down the embankment on the floor’.”
He continued: “I’m about to leave thinking I’m going to see her, you know pass her and find her. Then I get that call.”
Paul said: “I just went in the house, put the kettle on, made a cup of tea, went into the living room, and thought I’ve got on an hour now to sort of chill and get myself ready for the day. Which is what I did. So she’s usually back, like, quarter to 10, average 10 o’clock. At a push. So I’d gone up into the office at 10.
“Thinking that she’d be back in a minute, I was just going through some emails and stuff, setting my day up. It got to say quarter past 10, and that’s when I thought she was later than usual, but I still wasn’t particularly worried because she has come back at quarter past 20 sometimes.
“And again, there was no answer. I tried the mobile again and no answer. “Now I sort of started to get a bit bit panicky I think. So that’s when I thought I’m gonna have to go down there and see if she’s alright. See if I can see the car or you know, see what’s going on. But I still expected that I’d just get there and you know there she is.
“I just thought basically I’m gonna go out, find her, come home do a bit of work.”
It comes as…
- Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell says he believes a local is responsible for her disappearance.
- Heartbroken Paul begs Nicola Bulley to “just come home” in an emotional message
- Cops confirm they are hunting the owner of a red van seen in the area where the mum vanished
- The morning Nicola vanished felt “different” to others, says Paul Ansell
- Nicola Bulley’s children ask if “mummy is famous” as search continues into 14th day
- Nicola’s partner Paul says that he expected to be a suspect in her disappearance
Morning was ‘different’
Paul said: “Yeah totally normal, the only difference that morning was, you know usually, when you’ve got children, getting up on a school day.
“You probably know yourself is just mayhem isn’t it. Absolute carnage. And you know, we’re always up a little bit too late sometimes and trying to get them to have their breakfast and sort all that out and then do their hair.”
He added: “The only difference on that morning two weeks ago was that there wasn’t a lot of rushing. I came down and a lot of stuff was already done.”
Paul continued: “The girls were having their breakfast and everything was pretty much ready to go. I came down, Nikki went upstairs to get ready.
“The routine is basically if Nikki is taking the girls and Willow, when I hear her come down, I’ll get them in the car. It’s a well-oiled machine normally. And if it’s my job usually the roles were reversed.”
Appeal
Paul said: “I just, how much, how much I love her. How much us as a family love her and need her. How well thought of, how much our friends love her, and need her back. Um, and we are never, we’re never gonna be the same until, until she is back. Just come home.”
“Because all we need is that tiny something. We just need that tiny something to give us some answers you know, some answers,” he added. “So, you know, that’s all I can say is, you know, just please just, just contact the police with anything at all.”
Paul said: Like anybody who knows anything, like, like you say, no matter how small that is, even if you think probably isn’t anything, just please just contact the police. Just please just do it.”
Willow the dog
Speaking about how he feels, Paul said: “Anger, loads of frustration, confusion, disbelief, surrealism, nothing feels real.”
He added: “It just doesn’t feel real… I feel like I’m in The Truman Show. I honestly believe I’m going to wake up at any moment… how are we even in this? We are good people.”
Paul said that their dog Willow almost certainly witnessed what happened, which for him added “another layer of frustration” to events.
He added: “It’s a hellish situation with the layer of hell that, no, not knowing what’s happened yet. And then also having Willow who probably does know what happened. Um, but she can’t, she can’t tell us, can she?
“And she’s a very sensitive dog. I did take her back there first thing on the Saturday, the day after.”
