Nicola Bulley Missing

[Spymaster]

That still leaves a lot who are not

Yes, but that's irrelevant to your original questioning of why this particular case has attracted the resources and attention that it has.

 

[Elpenor]

The sister and a friend of Nicola Bulley are in the media being skeptical about the fell in the river hypothesis

 

[Rebelda]

It's hard when something tragic/shocking/unfair happens and there's no one to blame or punish.

That said, parts of this thread are a bit much. I'm all for scepticism and criticism, but speculation is distasteful imo.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

The sister and a friend of Nicola Bulley are in the media being skeptical about the fell in the river hypothesis

Well they're going to be. That involves giving up hope and saying she's dead which they will not do sans body.

 

[Yossarian]

Maybe they're getting false hope from all the poundshop Columbos out there arguing that abduction is a strong possibility

 

[kalidarkone]

Oh I'm really sorry if that's the way it came over. Not my intention at all. My issues are with the media/public in general in cases where white/pretty/blonde/middle class women go missing, not with any one particular poster here.
Apologies if I've offended anyone.

That was pretty clear. Don't apologise.

 

[Spymaster]

Oh I'm really sorry if that's the way it came over. Not my intention at all. My issues are with the media/public in general in cases where white/pretty/blonde/middle class women go missing, not with any one particular poster here.
Apologies if I've offended anyone.

Certainly no need to apologise.

Offending Magnus McGinty should be a sport.

 

[Cid]

It's hard when something tragic/shocking/unfair happens and there's no one to blame or punish.

That said, parts of this thread are a bit much. I'm all for scepticism and criticism, but speculation is distasteful imo.

Yep... I think it's easy in pushing back against speculation to appear to endorse an official line or something. Certainly that's not where I'm coming from; it's more just that the facts we have can't really be used to spin off new theories. And that doing so incautiously can lead to significant harms. The counter to that is usually 'yeah, but urban isn't exactly in the media zeigeist these days', which is fine in many situations. But e.g reinforcing the idea that you can get a decent read off someone on a TV interview, or that people who have some kind of reduced affect (whether innate or just because they're going through the absolute shit) 'look guilty' can genuinely serve to perpetuate harms, even within our little bubble.

e2a: I'm not sure that was entirely a response to your post, but there we go.

 

[Rebelda]

Fwiw I don't see replies as having to be responses. Sometimes they're a launch pad for thinking out loud

 

[weltweit]

I doubt the fell in the river theory, unless she was suicidal and jumped in but I don't think there is any evidence to support that theory either, that said sometimes suicidal people can hide their plans from their nearest and dearest as I know from personal experience. But it seems unlikely.

 

[andysays]

I doubt the fell in the river theory, unless she was suicidal and jumped in but I don't think there is any evidence to support that theory either, that said sometimes suicidal people can hide their plans from their nearest and dearest as I know from personal experience. But it seems unlikely.

I think the police have decided the "fell in the river theory" is the most likely because of the lack of evidence for any other possibility

 

[Rebelda]

People can slip, fall, bang their heads and lose consciousness before hitting water, or sustain an injury that prevents self rescue. Drowning is very quick, especially fully dressed in cold water, and can happen to the strongest of swimmers. I know it's a sad and frightening conclusion, why didn't she just, I would have, surely she could have... but it's entirely feasible. Absolutely the investigation should continue and be thorough, and we should always be critical of the police. But it's not an impossible conclusion, not by a long shot. For an island, we really underestimate the water I think.

 

[platinumsage]

I think the police have decided the "fell in the river theory" is the most likely because of the lack of evidence for any other possibility

Not just a lack of evidence but evidence of a lack of any other possibility. They have checked multiple witnesses, dash cams, door cams and other CCTV leading to that field, and narrowed the time down to a short window, meaning that there was very little chance of her or her body being able to leave the location undetected other than via the river.

 

[andysays]

Not just a lack of evidence but evidence of a lack of any other possibility. They have checked multiple witnesses, dash cams, door cams and other CCTV leading to that field, and narrowed the time down to a short window, meaning that there was very little chance of her or her body being able to leave the location undetected other than via the river.

Yes, that's what I meant, but your post is a better way of putting it.

 

[pbsmooth]

It’s the “people like us” bias. A mortgage adviser is more “relatable” to a journalist. They don’t even know they’re doing it.

It's not that, it's the fact that this is news because it's the type of person who doesn't go missing all the time and the other people aren't because they do go missing all the time. Harsh reality. This is nothing to say it's not an issue for society that should be treated equally of course it is but one is news worthy, one isn't. Dog bites man vs man bites dog.

 

[kalidarkone]

It's not that, it's the fact that this is news because it's the type of person who doesn't go missing all the time and the other people aren't because they do go missing all the time. Harsh reality. This is nothing to say it's not an issue for society that should be treated equally of course it is but one is news worthy, one isn't. Dog bites man vs man bites dog.

Which type of people go missing all the time?

 

[PR1Berske]

Which type of people go missing all the time?

There is no "type".

Young people who feel that nobody listens.
Middle-aged people who feel that no-one cares.
Frustrated men. Upset women. Scared LGBT+. People who never feel part of the 'system'. People who are stuck in the 'system'.
Drug users. Heavy drinkers. The quiet. The clowns. The guilty. The innocent.

Like slipping into a river, going missing can happen in a finger-click.

 

[kalidarkone]

There is no "type".

Young people who feel that nobody listens.
Middle-aged people who feel that no-one cares.
Frustrated men. Upset women. Scared LGBT+. People who never feel part of the 'system'. People who are stuck in the 'system'.
Drug users. Heavy drinkers. The quiet. The clowns. The guilty. The innocent.

Like slipping into a river, going missing can happen in a finger-click.

I'm asking pbsmooth what they mean as I'm not understanding.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I doubt the fell in the river theory, unless she was suicidal and jumped in but I don't think there is any evidence to support that theory either, that said sometimes suicidal people can hide their plans from their nearest and dearest as I know from personal experience. But it seems unlikely.

I think the best available evidence is the dog. If she left the area, either of her own accord or by menaces, why didn't the dog follow her? When it was found it was waiting in an agitated state by the river.

 

[pbsmooth]

I'm asking pbsmooth what they mean as I'm not understanding.

People who have had shitty lives... People in care, people from broken homes, addicts, people with no support network etc etc
This woman is not that. Hence news.

 

[Duncan2]

Not just a lack of evidence but evidence of a lack of any other possibility. They have checked multiple witnesses, dash cams, door cams and other CCTV leading to that field, and narrowed the time down to a short window, meaning that there was very little chance of her or her body being able to leave the location undetected other than via the river.

Yes but just because we/the police after one hectic week can't think of any other possibilities that doesn't mean that there are none.

 

[Duncan2]

I think the best available evidence is the dog. If she left the area, either of her own accord or by menaces, why didn't the dog follow her? When it was found it was waiting in an agitated state by the river.

Also the unattended phone which tends to suggest that she wasn't going somewhere when she slipped and fell into the torrent

 

[D'wards]

I did read somewhere that when lads go missing after a boozy night out there's a high possibility they fell pissed into the canal, if there was one in the vicinity.

 

[LDC]

People can slip, fall, bang their heads and lose consciousness before hitting water, or sustain an injury that prevents self rescue. Drowning is very quick, especially fully dressed in cold water, and can happen to the strongest of swimmers. I know it's a sad and frightening conclusion, why didn't she just, I would have, surely she could have... but it's entirely feasible. Absolutely the investigation should continue and be thorough, and we should always be critical of the police. But it's not an impossible conclusion, not by a long shot. For an island, we really underestimate the water I think.

I was walking somewhere once when very nearby two fit lads in their 20s (both strong swimmers) decided to swim across a nice bit of slow moving river (maybe 10m or so wide) cos it was a hot day. One got across fine and the other for some reason got into some difficulties, so the other went back. Both vanished under the water and drowned. Nobody knows what exactly happened between them deciding to swim across and then them both being found dead. I agree, people massively underestimate water and its dangers imo.

 

[gentlegreen]

I was searching for a YT video I once saw that explained that as a cause of death, women drowning while doing laundry in rivers competed with infectious diseases centuries ago and I sadly came across recent news items about several women drowning in India when doing the same thing - with the rescuers also drowning ...
That terrible case of those children falling through ice has given me regular food for thought as I walked around the frozen park lake - which I now know to be quite deep ...
Even though I'm confident that even 10 years since I last swam, I would be fine going into the relatively cold ocean on holiday, would I wade into icy water to save someone ?
Accidentally falling in fully clothed is going to be a whole different thing especially if you bang your head on the way... and looking at that river on GE, the banks are quite steep ...

 

[PR1Berske]

I last swam about 20 years ago. Nearer to 30. I'm fatter, my heart isn't as good as it was, my fitness is appalling. I can't say that, in a river, I'd suddenly remember how good a swimmer I was in my teens and just get away to the bank without a problem. As said above, the danger of water is really, really misunderstood.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I did read somewhere that when lads go missing after a boozy night out there's a high possibility they fell pissed into the canal, if there was one in the vicinity.

Yeah it happens a lot, even has an acronym FOCO (Flies open cock out) it's how the elderly boater shuffles off this mortal coil, having a piss outside whilst drunk. That document I linked to, 400 people a year in the UK, drown by accident. Mostly inland in rivers, canals and reservoirs.I think this case has got way more speculation and publicity than the usual ones because she's attractive, middle class and all of that. I think it's normal for the police to not take it as given that someone has fallen in, a few years ago a man went missing during a xmas party at a hotel by the river Stort, the police made a similar statement to this case, back then, asking for information, witnesses, did anyone see him etc. 3 weeks later his body floated up. I don't blame her family for holding out hope it must be dreadful.

 

[danny la rouge]

Two lads that were at my school drowned in a Loch. Both were fit and good swimmers, in their late teens. They were with their fathers in a boat which overturned fairly close to shore and told the Dads to hold onto the boat while they swam the short distance ashore for help. It was summer, good weather, and an inland Loch. They both drowned in sight of the Dads and their bodies were never found.

People underestimate open water all the time, sadly.

 

[Rebelda]

I was walking somewhere once when very nearby two fit lads in their 20s (both strong swimmers) decided to swim across a nice bit of slow moving river (maybe 10m or so wide) cos it was a hot day. One got across fine and the other for some reason got into some difficulties, so the other went back. Both vanished under the water and drowned. Nobody knows what exactly happened between them deciding to swim across and then them both being found dead. I agree, people massively underestimate water and its dangers imo.

Awful, but not uncommon I don't want to sound like I'm saying never swim in wild water but it needs respect. Know and mitigate the risks; tides, rips, currents, temperature. Not that it's relevant to this case, but even very well versed wild swimmers get into trouble so an unexpected fall into water can absolutely end in the worst possible way.

 

[Spymaster]

I was walking somewhere once when very nearby two fit lads in their 20s (both strong swimmers) decided to swim across a nice bit of slow moving river (maybe 10m or so wide) cos it was a hot day. One got across fine and the other for some reason got into some difficulties, so the other went back. Both vanished under the water and drowned.

Teddington, by any chance?

It was quite well documented some years ago. The lad who got across went back for his mate and got dragged down. Both pissed.