The devastated father of missing teenager Taylor Charlton has shared a heartbreaking birthday message begging his son to come home.
Taylor turned 15 on Tuesday (26 May) as the desperate search for the missing schoolboy entered its third week.
In an emotional Facebook post, dad Alex Charlton wrote: “Happy birthday Taylor.
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“Come back home or call us or something we will find you.
“Regardless what we been through we can fix it.
“Love you so much xxx miss you come back dude.”
The latest appeal came just hours after Alex shared another emotional message saying he felt “broken and lost” without his son.
In the earlier post, he wrote: “I want my son back!!!
“I wont stop looking and digging for information where you have gone.
“I love you more then life itself dude!!!!! Come home your room is waiting for you.”
Taylor was last seen near the Tesco Extra car park on Station Road in Barnstaple at around 10:30pm on 8 May, as reported by Need To Know.
CCTV footage later showed him heading towards the River Taw.
Devon and Cornwall Police have since launched extensive searches of the river and surrounding estuary using divers, drones, sonar equipment, specialist search dogs and a police helicopter.
Dive teams and a sonar-equipped boat were also deployed as part of the operation.
Shoes believed to belong to Taylor were discovered on consecutive days – 13 May and 14 May – along the high tide line between Sticklepath and Bickington, around 480 metres apart.
While detectives say all lines of enquiry remain open, investigators believe Taylor may have entered the water.
Sector Inspector Andy Wills said officers remain committed to a “large-scale and active investigation”.
He added: “We fully understand how difficult and upsetting this continues to be for Taylor’s family, friends, and the wider community.
“Our thoughts remain firmly with them.”
Taylor is described as white, around 5ft 8ins tall, with dark brown hair and a moustache.
Police previously said he may have been wearing a bright blue fitted top, jeans and bright blue Nike trainers when he disappeared.
Anyone with urgent information is urged to call 999 immediately quoting reference 50260117084. Non-urgent information can be reported via 101.
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