Ribbons are seen on a bench where the phone of missing woman Nicola Bulley was found, in Lancashire, Britain, 19 February 2023.; Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - On Sunday 19 February 2023, police in the north of England said that they had found a body near where a woman went missing last month.

Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog near a river in Lancashire, northwest England, on 27 January.

Twenty-five minutes later her mobile phone, still connected to a work Teams call, was found on a bench. Her springer spaniel was found waiting nearby.

Lancashire Police said they were called at 11:36 GMT on Sunday to reports of a body in the River Wyre.

"An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body," the police said in a statement on Twitter. "No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time."