What about the 11,000 still MISSING?

Now the search for Nicola Bulley has come to a devastating conclusion, we speak to a woman still living with the torment of not knowing...

- ROSA SILVERMAN

Twenty three days after she went missing, motherof-two Nicola Bulley was found dead in the River Wyre, just a mile from where she was last spotted. Although the tragic news brought fresh grief to her family, they were able to find some closure after weeks of unknowing. In a statement, they said, 'Our hearts truly break for others who have missing loved ones. Keep that hope alive. Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.'

There are currently more than 11,000 people recorded as long-term missing in the UK. We speak to a woman who shares her experiences of searching for her missing husband, and how Nicola's story has stirred up painful memories...

Lucy Creaney has been searching for her husband, Finn, for a year.

The 25 March marks the first anniversary my husband Finn Creaney's disappearance and I have every faith we will bring him home. But the uncertainty is torture, it is pain. You don't know how it will end, but you have to believe you will find the person you've lost. People don't just vanish off the face of the earth.

Every day, I message Finn. Not a day has gone by when I haven’t, even though the messages go unread. And every morning I wake and feel a heaviness, an aching for him, but a determination to stay positive: not to let the dread and fear and heartbreak take over.

Having hope