London (CNN)On a cold January morning, a mother-of-two dropped her young daughters off at school before taking her springer spaniel for their usual walk by the river.
Mortgage broker Nicola Bulley greeted fellow dog walkers as she took a route along the River Wyre in Lancashire, northern England, police believe.
During the walk, she dialed into a work conference call, keeping her camera off and microphone muted. By 9.30 a.m., the Teams call had ended -- but Bulley remained logged on.
A short while later, her dog Willow was found wandering alone. Her phone was recovered on a riverside bench. But Bulley had vanished.
The 45-year-old went missing in the village of St. Michael's on Wyre on Friday, January 27. She has not been seen or heard from since then.
Stephanie Benyon, a friend of Bulley's whose children attend the same school, told CNN that she is a "kind, loyal and thoughtful person who adores her two girls and family and friends."
A search party launched by Lancashire Police involving specialist resources is now into its eighth day.
Officers say they do not believe her disappearance is suspicious and people "should not speculate or spread false rumors." This has done little to assuage public concern, however, with some local women fearful of going out in the village where Bulley disappeared, British tabloid Daily Mirror reported.
It also comes at a time of heightened mistrust of police, after former London Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick recently admitting to a litany of sexual attacks on women, sparking calls for an inquiry into the UK's largest police service.
