Louise Cunningham, 41, who has been at the centre of the social media campaign ‘Bring Nikki Back Home,’ has shared a yellow heart on Facebook in memory of her sibling.

Friends and her old school in Essex have also shared tributes, urging people to spread their love for Nikki.

Ms Bulley’s body was discovered in the reeds of the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday, after she had been missing since January 27. She’d gone for a walk with her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her two daughters, ages six and nine, off at school.

Louise, on the left, and her late sister Nikki, on the far right, were central figures in the social media campaign to find her missing sibling.

Friends have also expressed their sadness at the news that Nikki has died.

‘Team Nikki came together on the 27th of January in efforts to raise awareness of the missing Nicola Bulley,’ Emma White wrote.

‘After 24 days of hoping and working to bring Nikki home, we were sadly informed that Nikki had been found in the river, which none of us wanted to hear.

While our hearts are broken, we will continue to support the family.

‘We’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your encouragement, messages, and for helping to make this group unique by keeping things real.

It is possible to have a good time while watching a movie.

‘We have a post where you can send messages to family and friends.’

Ms Bulley’s former secondary school has paid tribute to the mother-of-two, who moved to Lancashire from Essex in the late 1990s with her parents and sister.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of former William de Ferrers student, Nicola Bulley,’ said a spokesperson for the school in South Woodham, Essex.

Our hearts go out to Nicola’s family and friends, many of whom live in our own South Woodham Ferrers community.

‘At this difficult time, we would like to respect the families’ privacy.’

On Monday, Lancashire Police held a press conference to confirm that the woman in the Wyre was Nikki.

Officers made no mention of the widespread criticism they had received for making some aspects of Ms Bulley’s private life public.

Police also did not explain why it took 23 days for her body to be discovered in the river.

Ms Bulley’s body was discovered on a stretch of the river a mile or so outside the village, near where a tree had fallen on its side, half in and half out of the water, with branches and undergrowth, partially submerged.

The body was discovered by a man and a woman, who called the police, who said they were called to the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road at around 11.35 a.m. on Sunday.

Police had set up a tent and cordoned off the lane while police divers were called in, but the road was reopened three hours later after the body was recovered.

TikTok has promised to take action against social media sleuths who hampered the search for Nicola Bulley and spread distressing conspiracy theories about the mother-of-two online.

Locals have slammed ‘ghouls’ and amateur social media sleuths who have descended on the small Lancashire village where she went missing to conduct their own investigation.

TikTok, a social media platform, has been flooded with videos speculating about her disappearance, including rumours and conspiracy theories.

‘Our thoughts are with Ms Bulley’s family and friends at this difficult time,’ TikTok said in a statement. We have deployed resources to monitor the evolving discussion surrounding this case.

‘We are enforcing our Community Guidelines by removing content and accounts and limiting the reach of some content by making it ineligible for recommendation.’