Did Anyone Seen Cole? A Household's Search for Lost Teenager
When 19-year-old Cole Cooper stepped out into a chilly May night this past spring, not a single person would have thought he was in the final hours of his life.
He had been out with friends at a pub near his home in Scotland's central area.
But a few hours after, his cellphone was dead - no texts, no digital activity.
When there was no sign of him a week later, his relatives contacted police.
Warning: This article contains emotional content and references to suicide
The Cooper family explained that they notified police from the outset that Cole's absence wasn't usual activity - and that he had been dealing with his psychological state.
"We detailed to the police about Cole's mental health. While Cole had not been identified with mental health issues or similar conditions, he did face difficulties," said his mother.
"And they nonetheless did not put Cole as a critical risk.
"He's never escaped... authorities have at no point been involved in my son's life until the time he vanished."
The authorities originally deemed Cole to be intermediate risk after performing an analysis and talking to loved ones and acquaintances.
They said Cole frequently shifted between addresses and that it was not rare for him to be out of touch with his family for periods of time.
Cole's loved ones believed they had few alternatives but to conduct their own search and initiate their own search request.
His family member, Aimee Tennee, said: "We just determined we're going to do it ourselves when they're not paying attention to us."
They employed social media, writing one straightforward update: "Did anyone seen Cole?"
"The moment that it went on there, it started to somewhat expand," his aunt said.
Cole's story began propagating across the Scottish region and further afield. His image was on multiple online clips, social media stories and online announcements.
The family set up a specific platform, and possible sightings and information were shared digitally between numerous individuals.
His aunt said they obtained numerous communications from individuals who suspected they had spotted Cole.
The loved ones coordinated search parties, which involved up to 300 people at times in the subsequent phases of their investigation.
The vanishing had surprised the local population in the area, the local settlement on the edges of the channel near to where Cole lived. Local residents searched the region as they helped with the search.
The family also began to carry out their own personal visits, requesting inhabitants to examine their surveillance systems.
"It's rather disheartening that it arrived at a juncture where we were being forced to do that," the relative said.
"Instead of you focusing on your pain and your despair and your desperation for that young man, you're now in a changed situation."
Law enforcement says the family had expressed a desire to perform their own hunts and appeals, which they were permitted to do.
"We counseled them on this. Nonetheless, at no time did the authorities solicit or urge the relatives to head the investigation or supply progress reports," a official said.
The authorities had also been searching for Cole.
Five days after he was declared missing, they issued their opening public call - then they increased his risk rating from moderate to elevated.
Search and rescue dog teams and unmanned aircraft were utilized, as well as the air support and underwater search teams.
The family assembled the last hours of Cole's life and built a chronology of where the youth had traveled, seeking indicators.
They located recordings of him from just after he exited the tavern in Denny, in Stirlingshire, on the specific night.
He was recorded on video heading to a house party, then afterward a home security system picked him up walking to and from his dad's house, even though he wasn't in.
The relatives got CCTV footage from a auto repair shop which picked Cole up as he walked along the primary road at Longcroft, pausing near a bus stop.
At six in the morning,