An independent underwater rescue team assisting the police in their search for Nicola Bulley will utilize a high-tech sonar “capable of detecting every stick and stone on the riverbank.”
Peter Faulding, the chief executive officer of the company, stated that his team’s high-tech sonar technology has an “extremely high hit rate,” adding, “If there is a body in the river, our sonar will find it.”
Officers’ “primary working hypothesis” is that the 45-year-old mother of two fell into the River Wyre near the village of St. Michael’s on Wyre while walking her dog in Lancashire on the morning of Friday, January 27.
However, her relatives and friends assert that there is “absolutely no evidence” to support this.
Monday morning, Specialist Group International’s dive crew began the search, after the company had volunteered its assistance over social media.
Peter Faulding, chief executive officer of SGI, said, “Let’s search this water so we can confirm or deny that Nicola is in this river.”
His company’s £55,000 side-scan sonar has a high frequency of 1,800 kilohertz, and “we have a very high hit rate” with the device, according to him.
The police have a side-scan sonar, but “our sonar is probably a little bit better,” he added, adding, “I’m not sure what frequency they’ll be utilizing.”
Mr. Faulding stated that the police must search an “especially lengthy stretch of river” because they are also acting as a diving team.
Therefore, it is a monumental task for the police.
“It’s a large body of water,” he remarked, so there will be “more hands on deck.”
He stated that he had “worked on hundreds of these cases, and we almost always find people within an hour in lakes, etc.”
We simply bring additional expertise.
How can SGI assist?
Mr. Faulding stated that the SGI team will be instructed by the police search advisor in the morning to search a specific section of the river.
He elaborated: “Once he states, “I want this section of river searched,” it will be my responsibility to search that section of river with my crew.
Therefore, they won’t tell us how to accomplish it; they’ll simply say, ‘This is the section of river that needs work; please complete it and report back’.
He stated, “Our sonar will detect a body in the river if one is present.”
Mr. Faulding stated that SGI is responsible for all police underwater search operations in the whole South East.
He stated that the sonar will likely begin below the dam and “identify any potential targets.” He noted that it can normally cover approximately 10 river miles per day.
Mr. Faulding also advised, “Sometimes there are deep pools of water that the sonar can’t quite reach, and that’s when you have to send in the diver. However, this river winds around, and there are both deep pools and shallow areas, so it’s a lot of effort.”
He explained, “We will work a long day and continue till completion.”
How did SGI get involved?
Mr. Faulding stated that SGI initially made its services available on Facebook.
“We simply stated that we would assist if necessary, but the family returned immediately and then informed the police, who subsequently contacted us.
“Consequently, we have had fruitful discussions. We frequently collaborate with the cops.”
Emma White, a friend of Ms. Bulley, stated that SGI’s work will “give us answers” but she hoped that “they unearth nothing.”
She stated, “Following the police’s premise that Nicola was in the river, we need proof to back that up either way, and I believe Peter and his incredible piece of equipment… will come to sweep the river bed and provide us with answers.”
Ms. White stated on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, “We hope they find nothing, as the police have done for the past ten days, and we hope Nicola is not in that river.”
Ms. White, who has known the mother-of-two for ten years, explained on Radio 4’s Today program that she “came across one of the interviews” with Mr. Faulding.
She said, “They have the knowledge, equipment, and manpower to thoroughly scour rivers. So the search to get Peter to St. Michael’s began.”
Ms. White reported that Ms. Bulley’s two young kids are managing “remarkably well”. But added, “They question daily where their mother is.”
Lancashire Police stated in a statement that SGI will be deployed under its command and will “join an existing extensive, multi-agency search operation involving a vast array of search assets and resources.”
“Their capabilities will supplement what has been done and continues to be done to provide additional search coverage in an exceedingly difficult location to search.”
