Has Somebody Seen Cole? A Household's Hunt for Lost Youth
At the time 19-year-old Cole Cooper ventured out into a chilly May night earlier this year, not a single person would have considered he was in the last moments of his life.
He had been spending time with pals at a tavern near his residence in Scotland's central area.
But some time afterward, his cellphone was dead - no messages, no social media posts.
When there was zero indication of him a week later, his family called authorities.
Alert: This article contains upsetting details and mentions of suicide
His relatives revealed that they notified authorities from the beginning that Cole's absence wasn't usual activity - and that he had been dealing with his mental health.
"We clarified to the police about Cole's psychological condition. While Cole had not been confirmed to have mental health issues or similar conditions, he did face difficulties," said the parent.
"And they nevertheless did not classify Cole as a high risk.
"He's never run away... authorities have at no point been concerned in my son's life until the moment he went missing."
The authorities originally considered Cole to be intermediate risk after performing an assessment and consulting relatives and companions.
They said Cole often moved between addresses and that it was not rare for him to be uncontactable with his family for certain durations.
Cole's family believed they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands and initiate their own appeal.
His family member, Aimee Tennee, said: "We just determined we're going to take charge when they're not heeding us."
They utilized digital networks, publishing one simple message: "Has anyone noticed Cole?"
"The moment that it went on there, it started to kind of escalate," Aimee said.
Cole's story began propagating across Scotland and beyond. His image was on various TikToks, social media stories and online announcements.
The family established a dedicated page, and sightings and details were distributed online between thousands of people.
The relative said they got many contacts from citizens who believed they had encountered Cole.
The loved ones organised hunting groups, which included up to numerous volunteers at times in the advanced periods of their search.
The absence had shocked the local population in the village, the historic community on the shores of the channel near to where Cole dwelled. Community members scoured the locality as they helped with the hunt.
The family also began to carry out their own house-to-house investigations, requesting people to examine their monitoring devices.
"It's somewhat unfortunate that it got to a point where we were having to do that," Aimee said.
"In place of you focusing on your sorrow and your distress and your desperation for that individual, you're now in a changed situation."
The authorities says the relatives had expressed a desire to carry out their own investigations and requests, which they were entitled to do.
"We counseled them on this. However, at no time did law enforcement solicit or urge the relatives to head the investigation or provide progress reports," a official said.
The authorities had also been seeking Cole.
Five days after he was declared missing, they issued their opening public call - then they raised his risk rating from moderate to high.
Victim recovery dog teams and drones were brought in, as well as the aerial unit and aquatic specialists.
The household pieced together the final moments of Cole's life and created a chronology of where the youth had gone, looking for indicators.
They discovered footage of him from just after he left the tavern in the location, in the region, on the Saturday night.
He was recorded on camera heading to a private event, then subsequently a home security system detected him moving between his father's residence, while he wasn't present.
The household got surveillance video from a auto repair shop which recorded Cole as he walked along the main street at the location, stopping near a bus stop.
At six in the morning,
