Mum of missing Buxton man desperate for another sighting of her son

Tracey Coleby’s last contact with her son Christopher Coleby was on July 17 - when he told her he was going wild camping.

Apart from sightings at Buxton’s Corbar Woods Lane near his family home and in Chapel-en-le-Frith on the same day Christopher, 32, has not been seen since.

Mum-of-three Tracey told how she and Christopher’s two brothers Michael and Andrew and his father Paul were trying to keep busy.

She said: “If we don’t we think of the worst case scenario.

“All we need is more information, even if it’s just another sighting - all we have is the last day we saw him and nothing else.”

Tracey, a Macmillan nurse at Christie Hospital, told how experienced hiker and camper Christopher had relied on camping trips for comfort while struggling with his mental wellbeing during lockdown.

She described how lifeguard Christopher’s mental health had deteriorated while socially-isolating - prompting a return to his family home in Buxton.

Describing Christoper’s disappearance as ‘very worrying’ Tracey said her son - unable to work his two jobs as a security guard and a swimming instructor - had ‘struggled’ and moved back in with his parents in the middle of May.

She said: “He’s never had any problems before lockdown but it clearly had an impact on him.

“He was living on his own and had too much time on his hands - there was so much at the time on the news about coronavirus.

“But there were also a lot of conspiracy theories circulating which I think got a bit too much.”

Fifty-one-year-old Tracey told how on July 17 she insisted Christopher accept £20 as he headed off - however he had no other money and his bank cards and ID had been left at his home in Manchester.

She said: “Our biggest concern is whether he has access to food or water and whether he’s struggling psychologically.

“We don’t know whether he’s safe or not or struggling somewhere and lost, unable to contact anyone.

“As experienced as he is it’s difficult terrain out there - it doesn’t take much for something to go wrong when you’re not coping psychologically.”

Tracey said Christoper usually took a phone charger and battery pack with him during most trips however he had not done so this time.

Worryingly, records show the last time his mobile phone was switched on was July 19 in Hope.

Christopher could be wearing a blue Berghaus hooded jacket - which is what he was wearing when he went missing - and light grey jogging bottoms, a blue t-shirt and black walking boots.

A CCTV photograph of him in Chapel-en-le-Frith on July 17 also showed him wearing grey shorts and a grey/green hoodie.

He was carrying a large backpack with a green camping mat attached to the bottom.

Anyone who sees Christopher or anyone with information about his whereabouts should call police on 101, quoting reference number 865 of July 21.

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