Mum of murdered Libby Squire tells family of Nicola Bulley: 'Don't give up hope'
The mother of murdered student Libby Squire has told the family of Nicola Bulley not to give up hope.
Lisa Squire said that Nicola's disappearance almost three weeks ago has brought back painful memories of when Libby, 21, went missing in Hull in 2019.
It took seven weeks before Libby was found in the Humber Estuary off Cleethorpes, after 24-year-old Pawel Relowicz had murdered her and pushed her in the River Hull 20-miles away.
Lisa Squire's message to Nicola's family.
Although there is no evidence to suggest foul-play in Nicola's case, Lisa said she understands the pain of not knowing where your loved one is or what happened to them.
She told ITV News: "Not knowing where Libby was was incredibly tough because people don't just disappear. It's heart-wrenching.
"You don't want to give up hope. Every night you think 'tonight she's coming home'. It's tiring and exhausting, on top of it being so public as well."
Ms Bulley had dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, off at school and then took her dog for a walk alongside the river on 27 January before she went missing.
Her phone, still connected to a Teams call, was found on a bench on a steep riverbank overlooking the water, along with the dog lead and harness on the ground. No other sign of her has been seen since.
Lisa said: "I just feel terribly sad for Nicola's family because I know what it feels like to not know where your loved one is. It's incredibly difficult.
"You can see in Nicola's partners eyes the anguish that he's going through and I feel terribly for their two young children too."
Maternity nurse Lisa also warned people not to speculate about what may have happened to Nicola.
She said: "Nicola is someone’s daughter, someone’s partner and the mother of two young girls yet, I know with Libby, it’s like suddenly she’s everyone’s property.
"Everyone has an opinion on what happened. On one hand you’re grateful to people for wanting to help, but it’s a double-edged sword because in Libby’s case I just wanted to say ‘leave her alone’. I felt so protective."
Polish butcher Relowicz was convicted in 2021 of Libby's murder and rape, already having a history of sex crimes.
Lisa now campaigns for tougher policing on "minor" sex crimes to make sure what happened to Libby doesn't happen to anyone else.
She added: "The outcome for us was very sad and we didn't get Libby back home alive.
"I'm hoping that the outcome for Nicola is completely different and we all hope that she'd found and okay."
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