Why did the search for Nicola Bulley turn so toxic? | podcast

When Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old mortgage adviser, went missing on 27 January while walking her dog and on a work call, it could have been seen as just another missing person’s case. Instead, social media influencers, amateur sleuths and psychics descended on her village, alongside the UK press.

The Guardian’s north of England correspondent, Robyn Vinter, explains to Hannah Moore why seemingly puzzling details and a lack of clear police communication led to an assumption that there was more to the case than met the eye. As fascination with Bulley’s whereabouts increased, grief tourists arrived while TikTok users made videos, searched empty houses and even made accusations against her family.

Now that her body has been found, an inquiry has been launched into Lancashire police’s handling of the case, while her family has hit out at the media, social media users and members of the public who they say “vilified” them. Josh Halliday reports on how Bulley’s home town is coping. But why did this family – and community – tragedy spark such a circus?

Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

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