CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tune in to NBC Charlotte on Tuesday at 11 p.m. as Nathan Kocmond's parents speak for the first time about the week-long search for their son.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- "We know he’s unhappy, and we know he is sad, and we want him to contact us to let us know he's okay."
The parents of Nathan Kocmond tried everything they could think of to find their son after he disappeared in the fall of 2017.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and the FBI got involved. Panther Greg Olsen tweeted about the search. A GoFundMe was started to help find the teen. A private investigator was hired. A reward of $5,000 -- then $10,000 -- was offered for helpful information.
Desperate to know what happened, Jon and Sarah Kocmond turned to the media in hopes of reaching their 16-year-old son.
“We know the power of prayer and all that it can do," his mom told NBC Charlotte.
"He is missing his football team, not able to engage with his classmates the way he wanted to and that’s probably made him feel a little lonely as well," his dad said.
Kocmond's mom shared information on social media, too. Before, she only posted privately to her friends.
“I posted things publicly to get hundreds and hundreds of comments back from friends, distant, distant friends, acquaintances, to total strangers, trying to offer prayers and words of hope during that time we were looking for him,” she said.
Nathan had run away six months before, but he wasn’t driving then. Now, he had a license.
“My gut told me he got in a car, and he’s playing a game. He’s going to see how far and how fast he can get away and for how long,” she said.
Just six weeks before he vanished, Kocmond got a concussion playing football.
"He has been having severe headaches and depression because of that," his dad said.
Kocmond's dad said a specialist told him that hit to the head was affecting his son's cognition and mood.
“Certainly, we were not going to have him play football again," said his dad.
Nathan returned to school, depressed at first.
“It seemed like he had dug himself into an emotional hole that he did not recover from,” his mom said.
However, as the days went on, Kocmond's dad said he seemed to be improving.
Nathan even told his neurologist he was 95 percent better — the week before he drove more than 60 miles from home to commit suicide.
"Underneath, he didn't reveal to us the turmoil that he was going through. Or the acceptance or despair,” said Kocmond’s dad. “The extent of that was unfathomable.”
NBC Charlotte's Sarah French talks to Jon and Sarah Kocmond about relying on faith to cope with the void their son left behind. Watch the story Tuesday at 11 p.m. only on WCNC.