After a desperate search spanning more than three weeks, Nicola’s tragic end was confirmed yesterday as cops stated her body had been found less than a mile from where she vanished.

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The mum-of-two had vanished while on a walk with her dog on January 27 – sparking a massive search for answers.

The search spanned dozens of miles as cops scoured the River Wyre and downstream to Morecambe Bay along with more than 300 homes.

But the desperate hunt ended in tragedy as police confirmed a body – found by dog walkers on Sunday afternoon – was that of Nicola. 

Now, pressure is mounting for an independent inquiry into Lancashire Police’s handling of Nicola’s disappearance.

Former DCI Martyn Underhill said the police have serious questions to answer about its media strategy and search of the river.

He told The Times: “These are crucial issues that go to public confidence. I may well be totally wrong and Lancashire might be completely vindicated. 

“But I have never known a force to be so reluctant to seek external help — the Met and other forces all offered. The home secretary must get to the bottom of it.”

While former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley also piled pressure on the force.

He told Sky News: “The bottom line is Lancashire Police and all their experts and all their doctrines did not find Nicola. 

“Two people walking along a river bank did.

“Leading experts in their field helped with the search in terms of tide and river movements.

“River movements can be complex but [Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith] also went on to say that a nationally-recognised searching doctrine had been followed.”

Cops said the death was being treated as “unexplained”.

It comes after Suella Braverman hit out at Lancashire Police chiefs, admitting she “wasn’t wholly satisfied” with their justification for releasing personal information about Nicola.

The Home Secretary said she has serious “concerns” about the investigation, which has gripped the nation’s attention.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is assessing whether the force was right to reveal the personal information, while the Independent Office for Police Conduct are probing cop’s contact with Nicola in another incident before she went missing.

Ms Braverman and PM Rishi Sunak are said to be awaiting the outcome of those two investigations before deciding on an independent inquiry.

He said: “These search teams couldn’t find a currant in a rice pudding.

“I find it pathetic that a body has been found a mile from where she went missing.”

Yesterday, Nicola’s family released a heart-breaking statement, which read: “Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.”

The family said police confirmed their “worst fears” when they revealed the body found yesterday belonged to Nicola.

They added: “We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us.

“We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.

“Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.”

The police have been criticised many times in the weeks since Nicola vanished.

More recently they were slammed after revealing Nicola had “vulnerabilities” at the time she went missing.

These included “significant issues with alcohol” in the past that were brought on by her “ongoing struggles with the menopause” – this was quickly blasted by MPs and former cops.