THE mother of a missing man has fought back tears as she told how she went to the Co-op for a matter of minutes only to find her troubled son gone on her return.
Matthew Elmer, 23, who has been missing more than a fortnight, had not slept properly for days before he disappeared.
His parents, who do not know why he had problems sleeping, have now made an emotional plea again for any information.
He moved back into the family home in Livingston, West Lothian, from the house he shares with three friends nearby just before his disappearance.His mother, Catherine, below, said the family are “in a kind of limbo”, but had gained some support as a huge online appeal gathered tempo.
Mr Elmer took his mobile phone with him but it has not been used since he vanished on Saturday, February 13.
The music fan’s house-mates said they did not know what had happened to cause his sleepless nights and had helped lead the public search.
Mr Elmer’s father, Ian, below with his mother, said he had been helping his son buy a car just before he disappeared.
He was agitated, although this was thought to because of his lack of sleep.
He had failed to turn up for work as a customer service adviser at Lloyds Banking Group at Edinburgh Park on the Saturday he vanished.
His mother said: “He seemed fine on the Friday.
“I was off work on the Thursday with him. Then, on the Friday, he was going out to get some Vapes and was going off to his house, so he seemed to pick up a little bit on the Friday.
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone back to work.
“He hadn’t still slept very much and on the Saturday we sat up, had breakfast, he was watching TV, I was pottering around getting housework done, he kept nipping down, he said he wanted a cup of tea and then I went shopping.
“I was just round the corner, I came back, and he had gone.”
She added: “It was a cold night that night and all he had on was a black jacket, black trews and white trainers.”
Mr Elmer snr, who is estranged from his wife and lives in Cardiff, said: “Nothing as a father was giving me a huge cause for concern. Although he hadn’t slept properly for a number of days, he is a 23-year-old young man.
“Essentially, I was just reassuring Matthew saying ‘you just need to get your head down and get some sleep’.
“Immediately prior to all this, with Matthew and his lack of sleep, which seemed to be connected to this, Matthew was so looking forward to buying a new car, he was texting me and on Facetime.”
As the family, who had reunited following his disappearance, became more concerned they discussed getting medication to help Matthew’s sleep patterns.
He was not on any form of medication before this.
His mother added: “He wasn’t himself and he just needed to be with his family so he came to stay with me for a couple of days.”
Sergeant Neil McLeman also said: “Our inquiries look to various key areas. Firstly, extensive searches have been carried out in and around local areas.
“These have been led by police search advisers, and have been supported by specialist departments, namely air support, dog section, marine units and dedicated search teams.
“We have also called assistance from volunteers such as Borders Mountain and Search and Rescue.”
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