An expert diver who is aiding the search for Nicola Bulley has said he “doesn’t think she is in the water”, as specially trained divers continue to scour the River Wyre. Bulley, 45, from Inskip in Lancashire, vanished on the morning of 27 January while taking her dog, Willow, for a walk close to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre. On Monday, Lancashire police repeated the force’s working hypothesis that Bulley, 45, fell into the river, adding “but we remain open-minded, and we are continuing to carry out a huge number of inquiries”. A leading forensic search expert, Peter Faulding, who founded the company Specialist Group International, joined the effort to find Bulley after offering to assist the police free of charge, drafting in a team of six divers. Speaking to TalkTV on Monday night, he said: “I personally don’t think she’s in the river, that’s just my gut instinct at this point.” The force has renewed its appeal for anyone with dashcam or other relevant footage to submit it to officers, with a particular interest in the river path which leads from the fields back to Garstang Road. In a new statement released on Monday, Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, said: “It’s been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who 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 added: “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.” Faulding said that his main motivation for getting involved was to “bring closure for the family”. He said he had very high frequency sonar equipment, along with 20 years’ experience of this kind of underwater search mission. He said he would begin the work by carrying out aerial surveillance of the river by helicopter to get a better understanding of it. “The river is quite an unusual one. It’s not a straight river but a very windy one,” he said. “I think that within two to three days we should have all of the river searched. We are trying to help the police as much as we can. “The police are conducting lots of other inquiries apart from the search focused on the river. But if Nicola did not come to be in the river we should be able to rule that out in the next few days.” Faulding will be in charge of scanning the river with the hi-tech sonar equipment. If any area of interest is identified the team of divers will be able to focus on that area. “I think we probably have the best and highest-frequency kit available to do this work. It’s very easy to be an armchair detective in cases like this. I’ve had all sorts of people like psychics contact me about it. I’m going in with an open mind. What we need to do is get on with the job.” Lancashire police said that after reviewing CCTV, they were confident Bulley did not leave the field during “key times” via the Rowanwater holiday park, either through the site itself or via the piece of land at the side. In addition, the force said Bulley did not return from the fields along Allotment Lane or via the path at the rear of the Grapes pub on to Garstang Road. Officers would be contacting drivers who they believe were travelling down Garstang Road on 27 January by letter, Lancashire police said in a statement.