Parents' anguish at teen's mystery death

A FAMILY is mourning the loss of a "caring and thoughtful" teenager who was found dead on his bedroom floor.

Former Tretherras School student Connor Raines was found by his father Graham – with his death currently treated as 'unexplained'.

The family believes the 17-year-old's death could be linked to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS).

He was found with his head in his hands on his bedroom floor at his father's Glasgow home.

Doctors have confirmed it could take up to six weeks to establish the cause of death.

Graham, who used to live in Newquay with Connor, said: "It's bad enough that your teenage son had died, but not knowing why and having to wait for answers that might not even come is horrific.

"He was his usual carefree and happy self. He complained about a sore neck and feeling like he hadn't had enough sleep. But that was it.

"Since he died I've been looking into something called Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) as the swollen sore neck and lack of sleep is linked to it.

"We're about two weeks into the six-week wait, and I'm worried they won't know. It's a nightmare."

Graham now lives in Glasgow, after he moved away from Newquay about five years ago.

He says Connor was getting to a stage in his life where he was ready to "become a man and stand on his own two feet".

His funeral service took place on Friday last week following the death on January 26. "The service we had for him in Scotland was beautiful. The church was packed," said Graham.

"I had no idea just how many friends Connor had. He had a great personality, always smiled, was caring and thoughtful.

"When I was at the service, I didn't realise how packed it was until the vicar got me to stand back and just take it all in. There was standing room only.

Come together

"He went down to Newquay to see all his friends as he loved the town; it had been his home since he was two years old."

Connor's friends in Newquay have now come together and want to erect a bench in his memory – to be placed at either Trenance Gardens or above Great Western beach.

Amanda Edwards, the mother of one of Connor's closest friends, Kyle, paid tribute to him. She said: "He was such a lovely lad, very popular and everybody knew him."

The memorial bench will cost around £1,300, to ensure it is maintained for up to 15 years. Unfazed by this amount, Connor's friends are planning a series of fund-raising events to reach the total.

Kyle Edwards will be skydiving in April and his girlfriend, Amanda Griffin, will be doing a sponsored walk to Truro with her friends – dressed as fairies.

The main event takes place this Saturday, when a special fund-raising party will be held at The Shack, in Newquay, starting at about 8.30pm.

Many of Connor's family will be there – including his mother, Tina Wood, who still lives in the town. Among those attending Connor's funeral was Graham's fiancée, June, his brothers Jamie, Danny and Finley, his step-siblings, Stacey and Robert, and his girlfriend Sammy.