The partner of missing Nicola Bulley has told Sky News she “has to be found safe and well” because “I can’t put my girls to bed again with no answers”.

The mother-of-two went missing in Lancashire on the morning of Friday 27 January while walking her dog.

Officers’ “main working hypothesis” is that the 45-year-old fell into the River Wyre near to the village of St Michael’s on Wyre.

But her family and friends have claimed there is “no evidence whatsoever” behind this.

In a statement, released through Lancashire Police on the 10th day since she was last seen, Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, said the girls “miss their mummy desperately” and “need her back”.

“This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support,” he said.

In a separate statement to Sky News, he said: “We have to find her safe and well. I can’t put those girls to bed again tonight with no answers.”

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It comes after Specialist Group International’s dive team joined the search on Monday morning after the company originally offered its help on social media.

SGI’s chief executive, Peter Faulding, told Sky News: “Let’s get this water searched so it can be either confirmed or denied if Nicola is actually in this river.”

He said his company’s £55,000 side-scan sonar has a high frequency of 1,800 kilohertz and “we’ve got a very high hit rate” with the equipment.

Police also have a side-scan sonar but “our sonar is probably a bit more superior”, he said, adding: “I’m not sure what frequency they will be using.”

Mr Faulding said it was a “particularly long stretch of river” for police to search “because they’re doubling up as a dive team as well”.

“So it is a huge task for the police.”

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“It’s a vast area of water” so there will be “more hands on deck”, he said.

He said he had “worked on hundreds of these cases, and we always, generally find people within the hour in lakes etc”.

“We’re just bringing an extra expertise.”

Mr Ansell praised SGI for joining the search, adding: “We are really grateful to Peter and his team from SGI for coming up and helping support the work of Lancashire Police as they continue their investigation.

“If anyone has any information which could help find Nicola, I urge them to get in touch with the police and help us provide the answers we all so badly need.”

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