On 27 January 2023, 45-year-old British woman Nicola Bulley disappeared whilst walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, England.

Lancashire Constabulary said that there was no evidence of either suspicious activity or third-party involvement in the disappearance and quickly stated that their working hypothesis was that she had fallen into the River Wyre.

However, an extensive search of the river and surrounding land involving police divers, helicopters, sniffer dogs and drones found no body.

On 19 February Bulley's body was found in the river, by a man and a woman walking in the area, about one mile (1.5 kilometres) downstream of St Michael's on Wyre.

The police were criticised for their handling of the case, including releasing private details of Bulley's health and poorly communicating with the media which resulted in public speculation.

Members of the public, particularly users of social media, were also criticised for travelling to the area during the search and for what the police described as "[playing] private detectives".

[26][27] The search involved police divers, a helicopter, sniffer dogs and drones,[20] and was assisted by the Coastguard, Mountain Rescue and fire crews.

[30] At a press conference held on 15 February by Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, Lancashire Constabulary stated that there remained no evidence of criminal activity nor of third-party involvement in Bulley's disappearance.

[8] Smith was critical of users of social media such as TikTok, who had visited the area "[playing] private detectives"; she stated that false information, speculation and rumour had been detrimental to the police investigation and had adversely affected Bulley's family.

[41] Some members of the public tried to take photos of the body by climbing over a fence and pretending to be journalists; a man was later arrested and bailed, for a malicious communications offence and perverting the course of justice relating to him recording video within the police cordon.

[50] On 21 February, the broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it was "extremely concerned" to hear complaints about media conduct made by Bulley's family, and that it had written to both ITV and Sky News to ask them to explain their actions.

[56] After a review of the force's disclosures during the case, the Information Commissioner's Office decided to take no enforcement action, with more details expected to be released following the inquest in June.

"[58] Williams extended her criticism to the general public, via social media, which reacted entirely contrarily, in her opinion, to how reason and tact would dictate in the early stages of the case when police released minimal information.

When the theories circulating forced the police to hold their 15 February news conference to debunk them, she noted, two Daily Mail columnists tweeted links to columns criticising Detective Superintendent Smith for having worn a sleeveless dress.

[44] Later in February, Specialist Group International, who had conducted the unsuccessful sonar searches of the river, were removed from the National Crime Agency's Expert Advisers Database, pending a review of the case by the NCA.

[61][62][63] The programme received criticism from some viewers for the amount of time it spent discussing the involvement of social media amateur sleuths.