The parents of missing, feared drowned, university student Josh Caley have appealed for people to keep searching for him.
His mother Joy said from the family’s home in Jurby: ‘I just need to have him home.
‘So many people have been out looking for him and I can’t thank them enough. But we need everybody to keep looking.
‘The support we’ve had has been overwhelming and has kept us going. We are truly grateful.’
First year University of Manchester maths student Josh, who turned 19 in December, had been due to see in the New Year with his parents at the home of family friends.
However, his plans changed and he spent it instead with his own friends in Ramsey.
But in the early hours of New Year’s Day the former Ramsey Grammar School student became separated from his friends.
A full scale search operation was launched when his parents Joy and Philip raised the alarm.
CCTV footage showed a man who police believe must have been Josh losing his balance and falling backwards into the harbour.
Police involvement in the search has now finished and matters are in the hands of the Coastguard.
Joy said her son, a committed Christian, had a ‘wicked sense of humour’ and was someone who loved life.
She said: ‘He was a very shy person but he had made friends in sixth form and in Manchester and was coming out of his shell.
‘He had big plans. He said he would be successful in life. He entertained thoughts of being an actuary.
‘He was never sporty at school but he became so good at swimming he was thinking of joining the uni team.
‘He started running small marathons in the island and in Manchester.’
Joy said that on New Year’s Eve her son had told her he was not going to get drunk because he wanted a clear head to carry on revising the next day.
Joy said she has tried calling and texting him but got no reply.
She then got a call which she thought would be her son - but it was the police telling her that they had found his phone on a bench in front of the harbour.
Joy and her husband went round to Josh’s friend’s house at about 2.30am just as his friend was coming back.
He told them Josh had become separated from the group when he was refused entry to the Nightlife nightclub but had told his friends that he was okay and was going to phone his parents.
Josh had been using his mum’s spare mobile. Police found that he had sent a number of texts from that mobile that night, one asking his mum to collect him and another asking whether he should get the bus.
Joy never received the texts or the phone calls - for some reason Josh had sent them to his old Manx number which was no longer in use.
‘He must have been confused because he had more drink that he was normally used to,’ she said. ‘He was not a big drinker.’
Police suspect that he went to the harbour as he wanted to use the toilet.
Joy said since those terrible events she has had difficultly sleeping and keeps asking ‘what if?’.
But she said: ‘We believe only God has the answer and we are waiting for the answer to be revealed.’
She added: ‘I try to distract myself but my imagination is working ahead do me. I think want might have been. He’ll miss so much, he had so much living to do.’
A family friend has set up a GoFundMe account which has already raised nearly £7,400 to bring over Joy’s family from the Philippines to support his parents.
Joy suggested any money left after travelling expenses could be spend on the continuing search, perhaps by hiring a diver.
It will also be used to set up a fund to support a struggling student, most likely in the Philippines.