The brother of a 32-year-old from Kensington who has been missing for two-and-a-half weeks has spoken of his family’s “agonising” wait for answers.
“Outgoing” Nathan Cole has not been seen since Saturday, January 21, when he was last captured on CCTV in Walthamstow shortly after 11.15pm.
He had been planning to attend a gig at Koko in Camden that night, but following an apparent change of plans instead travelled to northeast London.
More than 100 police officers have since been involved in a huge search spanning around 12sq m of wetland, but 17 days after his disappearance his heartbroken family still have “no idea what has happened to him”.
Police previously said they are growing increasingly concerned he may have come to harm.
Nathan was last seen on CCTV walking along Banbury Road in Walthamstow, in the direction of the River Lee at 11.17pm on January 21.
Scotland Yard says officers are checking CCTV at all entrances and exits to The Wild Marshes, and are searching specific areas of the 12sq m wetland, including reservoirs and waterways.
Nathan’s family describe his disappearance as “very out of character”, as he has never gone missing before.
“At this moment in time we honestly have no idea what’s happened to him,” his brother Luke Cole, 27, told the Standard on Tuesday.
“It’s been quite agonising really. The whole process has been like something you see on TV - it’s not really like something that happens in real life.”
The eldest of five siblings, Nathan lives with his mum in Kensington. But his family contacted police on Monday, January 23, when he failed to return home.
“We found it strange that it came to Sunday and he hadn’t come home,” said his brother.
“He would always come back on Sunday to prepare for work, so when we woke up on Monday and he hadn’t arrived back we knew something was very wrong.”
It is not known why Nathan travelled to Walthamstow the night he disappeared.
He knows the area having lived there previously, and police and his family have theorised he may have gone there to meet a friend.
“His phone hasn’t been found,” said Mr Cole. “We don’t have access to his messages. So we don’t know if he planned to meet up with someone in that area.
“But of his closest friends that we’re aware of, no-one really lives there specifically.”
Mr Cole says CCTV cameras are relatively scarce in the area Nathan went missing.
“It’s just a difficult kind of search at the moment,” he said. “Walking in the marshes and wetlands of Tottenham and Walthamstow area, there’s not many cameras.
Mr Cole said Nathan, who graduated from the University of Bath with a masters in pharmacology, was enjoying his job at London School of Economics, which he had held for around six months. His family had no concerns about his mental health prior to his disappearance.
“Nathan had been engaged in his job,” said Mr Cole. “He would work Monday to Friday and then he’d try to make the most out of his weekends.
“He was just kind of living a normal life. He was an outgoing person, he was quite sociable. He liked spending a lot of his time going for walks. He liked to do new walks, see new things.”
Mr Cole urges Londoners to keep his brother in mind, and to contact police with any relevant information.
“Nathan has such a big family - he’s a brother, he’s a son, he’s a friend,” he said.
“I think people forget that when someone goes missing, that person means a lot to a family or to a bunch of friends.
“So I just appeal to anyone in the area around that time to come forwards and provide any information whatsoever, because at this moment in time we honestly have no idea what’s happened to him.”
Nathan is described as a “very sociable” person who “would engage in conversations with anyone”.
He is white, and about 5ft 10ins. At the time of his disappearance he was wearing small round glasses, a grey trench coat and dark trousers, with Dr Martens shoes and a red scarf.
Timeline of the night Nathan went missing
10.05pm - Nathan bought four cans of lager at a shop in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, before catching a 158 bus towards Chingford
10.55pm - He got off the bus outside Walthamstow Academy, close to the junction of Academy Way and Billet Road
11.05pm (approximately) - He was picked up on residential CCTV walking along Billet Road
11.17pm - CCTV shows him walking west along nearby Banbury Road, towards the River Lea. This is the last confirmed sighting of Nathan.
12.41am - Officers believe Nathan’s phone was active in the vicinity of the former Ikea store in Glover Drive, Edmonton. So far there has been no confirmation that Nathan was in possession of his phone at that time. There has been no activity on Nathan’s bank account since then.
Nathan’s father, Eamonn Cole, previously issued an emotional appeal to his son saying: “I just want him to come home, he’s not in any trouble.
“It’s not unusual for him to be out on an evening, but it’s completely unprecedented for him to have been missing for so long.
“We all love him very, very much. He is loved by many people. We need him home.”
Anyone who sees Nathan should call 999.
Anyone with other information can call 101, giving the reference 23MIS002577.
