The desperate mother of a missing 14-year-old boy collapsed and had to be rescued during desperate river search for her son, last seen 12 days ago.
Zoe Harvey suffered cuts to her face, hands and arms while battling though reeds in an attempt to locate Taylor Charlton on the bank of the River Taw in Barnstaple.
The teenager was last seen in the car park to Tesco Extra in the town in North Devon on 8 May.
Devon and Cornwall Police say CCTV of his last movements show him walking toward the River Taw, with the force searching river area on the basis the teenager may have entered the water.
Specialists search teams, along with drones and a police helicopter, have been covering the river and estuary areas.
They have been joined by members of the community who have rallied to join efforts. Posters and t-shirts have also been printed to spread the message of Taylor’s disapperance.
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In a now-deleted picture posted on Facebook on Tuesday night, Ms Harvey was pictured lying down on the floor, unconscious, covered in mud.
A friend who posted the picture wrote: “This is a picture of Taylor’s mum. I have watched her go through the emotions but the other night she got ‘mama bear angry’, she decided she was going to come Bear Grylls, picked up a stick and started hitting reeds with it till she sank in sewage and was stuck. She had to be pulled out and thankfully saved.
“Barely eating, sleeping or functioning, but this is a mother’s love trying to find her baby boy. She needs him home.”
Ms Harvey, when contacted by The Independent, did not want to comment further, but gave permission for the picture of her after her desperate search to be used.
On a social media group called ‘Find Taylor Charlton’, on Wednesday morning, people shared gathering points for search parties.
A friend, called Charlie, told Devon Live: “As a community we have all pulled together and we have quite strongly said we will not stop looking for Taylor.”
On Tuesday, police said detectives had reviewed a significant amount of CCTV as well as carrying out house-to-house and witness enquiries in a bid to locate Taylor. Shoes believed to belong to him were found on the bank to the River Taw, 480m apart.
Sector Inspector Andy Wills said all avenues of enquiry remained open.
He added: “We are extremely grateful for the public response to our appeal so far, and we still urge anyone with information to contact us. If you are out searching, please help us by keeping yourselves safe.”
Taylor is a described as about 5ft 8ins tall, of muscular build, with dark brown hair and a moustache. He was last seen wearing a bright blue fitted top, jeans and bright blue Nike shoes.
Anyone who sees Taylor, or knows of his whereabouts, is asked to call 999, quoting reference number 50260117084.
