The decision to release intimate personal details about missing mum Nicola Bulley has been heavily criticised by a former senior detective.
Peter Bleksley, who is familiar to viewers of Channel 4 show Hunted, described the move by Lancashire Police as "utterly ludicrous".
The force held a press conference on Wednesday intended to calm mounting speculation about the mother-of-two who vanished in St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire on January 27.
They told the media that the 45-year-old was classified as "high risk" because of "a number of specific vulnerabilities". But the briefing only served to inflame the speculation.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk