Has Somebody Noticed Cole? A Family's Search for Lost Teenager
At the time teenage Cole Cooper walked out into a cool May night recently, nobody would have imagined he was in the final hours of his life.
He had been out with friends at a tavern near his residence in the central region of Scotland.
But some time afterward, his mobile was switched off - zero communications, no social media posts.
When there was still no trace of him five days later, his loved ones phoned authorities.
Caution: This article contains emotional content and mentions of suicide
His relatives told that they advised authorities from the start that Cole's absence wasn't normal conduct - and that he had been facing challenges with his mental health.
"We explained to the police about Cole's psychological condition. While Cole had not been confirmed to have clinical depression or comparable problems, he did have challenges," said his mother.
"And they still did not put Cole as a critical risk.
"He's not once escaped... police have never been concerned in my son's life until the period he vanished."
The police originally deemed Cole to be moderate risk after performing an assessment and consulting loved ones and acquaintances.
They said Cole regularly moved between locations and that it was not uncommon for him to be out of touch with his family for periods of time.
Cole's family believed they had few alternatives but to become investigators and make their own appeal.
His aunt, Aimee, said: "We just determined we're going to take charge when they're not listening to us."
They took to digital networks, posting one straightforward message: "Has somebody spotted Cole?"
"The moment that it appeared online, it started to somewhat expand," the relative said.
Cole's story began spreading across the area and further afield. His face was on multiple online clips, social media stories and Facebook updates.
The household established a specialist page, and potential sightings and details were shared online between numerous individuals.
Aimee said they got hundreds of messages from people who suspected they had spotted Cole.
The loved ones coordinated search parties, which comprised up to 300 people at moments in the advanced periods of their quest.
The absence had stunned the tight-knit community in the village, the local settlement on the edges of the Forth-Clyde canal near to where Cole dwelled. Local residents examined the region as they helped with the hunt.
The relatives also began to carry out their own door-to-door inquiries, asking inhabitants to examine their monitoring devices.
"It's quite disheartening that it reached a juncture where we were having to do that," the relative said.
"Rather than you focusing on your grief and your despair and your anxiety for that individual, you're now in a changed situation."
The authorities says the relatives had expressed a intention to conduct their own investigations and public calls, which they were permitted to do.
"We guided them on this. Nevertheless, at no stage did Police Scotland request or prompt the relatives to lead the investigation or provide information," a representative said.
The authorities had also been seeking Cole.
Several days after he was declared missing, they issued their initial public request - then they raised his risk level from medium to serious.
Search and rescue canine units and drones were utilized, as well as the police helicopter and underwater search teams.
The relatives reconstructed the concluding period of Cole's life and built a chronology of where the teenager had moved, seeking clues.
They found video of him from just after he exited the pub in Denny, in the region, on the weekend evening.
He was captured on camera proceeding to a social gathering, then afterward a home security system detected him walking to and from his parent's home, even though he wasn't in.
The family got surveillance video from a vehicle service center which picked Cole up as he headed down the main street at Longcroft, pausing near a transit stop.
At six in the morning,
