After dropping off her children and embarking on her customary riverside walk with her dog Willow, Nicola sent a text to a friend at 8.59 am to organise a playdate for her nine and six-year-old daughters.
Shortly thereafter, she joined a work Teams meeting at 9.01 am and was last seen walking Willow from a distance by a familiar dog walker at 9.10 am. By 9.18 am, her phone indicated a volume adjustment on her work call.
At 9.33 am, a passerby discovered Nicola’s phone on a bench near the river, with Willow running back and forth.
Nicola’s Springer Spaniel’s harness was found on the ground, and despite the virtual meeting ending at 9.30 am, Nicola remained logged on.
Another dog walker recognised Willow as belonging to Nicola, prompting a call to the girls’ school and eventually reaching her partner, Paul Ansell, who was at home.
Paul immediately called 999 and rushed to the scene.
Lancashire Police initiated an extensive operation, deploying divers into the water, aerial drones, and conducting meticulous searches of the area.
Despite the absence of clear indications that Nicola fell into the river, all other possibilities were eliminated.
Three and a half weeks later, their conclusions were tragically confirmed when Nicola’s body was found in the water, a mile from the initial disappearance.
During the June 2023 inquest into Nicola’s death, a crucial piece of evidence was her FitBit activity tracker. At 9.22 am, it recorded a significant spike in her heart rate, consistent with cold water shock.
The coroner ruled Nicola’s death as accidental, speculating that the shock likely caused her to lose consciousness within 30 seconds. The mystery remains regarding how or why she entered the water.
An independent review of Lancashire Police’s handling of Nicola’s disappearance was published in November. The force was criticised over the way it made public details of Nicola’s medical situation – with even the Prime Minister expressing concern that private information had been disclosed.
The review also found Lancashire Police had lost control of the public narrative at an early stage with senior officers failing to brief mainstream accredited reporters because trust had broken down. This led to an information vacuum and unchecked speculation.
