It is May 22, 2017. Patrik is on his way home to his parents in Malmö and will change trains in Mjölby, but is leaving the train too soon, in Hallsberg. He has been feeling mentally ill for a while and when it gets worse he decides with the family that it is time to go home.
But Patrik never comes home. On the night of Tuesday, May 23, Patrik reported missing to the police in Malmö, and then it is still unclear to the police where he disappeared. Only at lunchtime on Wednesday are the police in Hallsberg informed and then the search begins.
- It is no secret that we think that the police work was not handled well in the beginning and that the people involved have acknowledged. They would have gone out with everything they had right away. We talked about Patrik's bad mood, yet the assessment was that it was not needed, says Jörgen.
- If they had done that, Patrik might have been saved. It feels heavy and hard, at the same time bitterly so.
When the search starts, many volunteers line up under the leadership of Missing People. Patrik's classmates from the Music Conservatory in Falun participate and in Malmö the parents act as a form of liaison center.
The family starts a Facebook page asking for tips, and information is pouring in from all over the country. Thousands of people get involved, but no tip leads to Patrik being found.
- We split between hope and despair, but it always ended up not being Patrik. It was such a disappointment.
Time passes. After seven weeks, Jörgen chooses to go to Hallsberg himself to meet those who are looking for his son.
"In this dark tunnel, light is really this commitment," he said.
Today he describes the support in the same way.
- Many still hear and send thought and love. After all, it has been the biggest help in this to still manage. You get energy and hope from it, comfort, of course.
After three months of work coordinating the search, the insight landed in him: Patrik is probably no longer alive.
- You can't keep up and work around the clock, I just had to pull everything down to keep up. Of course, we have not let go, the hope is still that we will have an end.
A year has now passed and Tuesday marked an anniversary that the family would rather have been without.
- It is difficult to describe, difficult to understand for someone who has not been in the same situation. It's like two white lives. One life before the disappearance and another completely after. Someone said that it is probably the worst thing you can suffer in life - that your child is gone and you do not know what happened.
New searchesSince New Year Jörgen works part time. Missing People organizes new searches and the police have a planned search with dogs in the Hallsberg area. A post Jörgen made on Facebook on the anniversary has been widely circulated and again people hear from him.
- I decided to dedicate my birthday to Patrik. For most of the day I sat and answered comments. It felt nice too.
The media has also heard and the anniversary has been raised both locally and in the national media. The family appreciates that people are reminded that he is still gone.
- Some may not understand that you can go up in smoke that way. Many believe he has been found.
Every day is still a struggle to try to return to a reasonably normal existence.
- It is difficult. We can't say we have succeeded yet. The uncertainty is terrible.
When I ask Jörgen what makes you still struggle, he becomes silent at first. Then he says:
- We have another son. So somehow life must go on anyway.