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Images from the scene show the intensive search effort being instigated by Lancashire Police more than three weeks after the mum was last seen, shortly after dropping her daughters off at school. It is understood that the force sealed off a nearby road after receiving a call at around 11.50am. Investigations have centred on the River Wyre. Police have been pursuing a theory that she fell into the river within a 10-minute window between her last sighting and her phone being discovered on a nearby park bench.
However, social media detectives' theories have prompted her family have called for a stop to "speculation and rumour". In a statement issued by Lancashire Police, the family said: "The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life." The force has mounted an internal investigation into the disclosure. It has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, England's policing watchdog, over contact officers had with Nicola on January 10, more than two weeks before she disappeared.