These hot-headed vigilantes are proving to be a total nuisance, upsetting Nicola's family and friends, obstructing the police and pestering local residents. The police have had to issue a 48-hour dispersal order for the village of St Michael's on Wyre and have warned people about their behaviour. A private security firm is now patrolling the village.
The wannabe sleuths have been breaking into derelict houses looking for signs of Nicola's presence. They've been taking intrusive videos. They've been speculating wildly about Nicola's whereabouts. They've been abusing witnesses. And they've been trespassing on private land.
Nicola's friend Heather Gibbons said "We are at the point where people coming to help look for Nicki are actually doing the complete opposite."
What prompts people to be such a pain the neck, persistently getting in the way of the police and having to be warned off? Who invited them to barge in and air their wild theories about Nicola's disappearance? And why do they think they know better than the professional investigators?
If they had a grain of common sense and tact, instead of making a distressing situation even more distressing for those directly affected, they would content themselves with following the inquiry in the rest of the media like the rest of us. But no, they have to get in on the act, no matter how much of a nuisance they're causing.
At this rate, the police will have to seal off the entire village to keep out the unwanted busybodies.
Update: Nicola's body was pulled from the River Wyre on February 20
Pic: the spot where Nicola was last seen
Wow! That’s crazy. I think the crime shows on TV plus social media feed into that behavior. But there’s also the aspect of people who sincerely want to help. Here, there’s often a monetary award offered for tips on disappearances.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Unfortunately the hangers-on seeking the spotlight just get in the way of those who genuinely want to help. People here do sometimes offer large rewards for information leading to a conviction.
DeletePeople thinking more of their own excitement at being 'involved' than of the grim matter of the disappearance itself.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Finding Nicola has become a sort of game to those people who just want to make out they're "in the know".
DeleteEverybody wants to be Jonathan Creek. People should respect that this situation is real and not some sort of game.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, a man missing from Walthamstow since the 21st January has garnered little media coverage or interest despite his case being equally mysterious.
Nathan Cole.
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Ms Scarlet: Interesting isn't it that everyone's heard of Nicola Bulley because of the huge media coverage and all the hangers-on, but I was unaware of Nathan Cole. His disappearance is equally mysterious.
DeleteJoanne: Me neither.
ReplyDeleteI would say this is an unhealthy mental behavior and it can make the real research quite difficult. I always hate what we call "radio trottoir" ( radio pavement ?) when people are interviewed to give their opinion after a tragic event.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: No, radio pavement isn't the term we use. We call those street interviews vox pop. And yes, they're totally unnecessary.
DeleteOh wow.
ReplyDeleteMary: There are too many people out there who couldn't care less how their actions affect others.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed disturbing. Some people however are what you might describe as busy bodies, and think that they know best. That's my explanation for such odd behaviour, anyway.
ReplyDeleteJenny: That's right, people who think they know better than professional investigators with years of experience.
DeleteI was not familiar with this case until reading about it in your post, Nick. I now know more than what you stated in your post and agree that people should stay out of incidents best investigated by professionals. Hopefully, Ms. Bulley will be found, but the likelihood of her being alive seems to diminish with each day that passes.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: I fear you're right that the chances of her being found alive are gradually fading. The amateur detectives are having no more success than the salaried ones.
DeleteThey must have desperately boring lives!
ReplyDeleteJenny: They must. And they relieve the boredom by annoying the hell out of the residents of St Michael's.
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