The mother of a Co Tyrone boy who went missing after leaving a nightclub said tonight she did not expect him to be found alive.
Ms Collette Rushe said she feared the worst after police scaled down a third day of searches for her 15-year-old son Brendan.
Emergency workers joined 200 members of the public today to search for the youngster from Castlederg.
He vanished after leaving friends at a nightclub across in Donegal town in the early hours of Monday saying he was going to catch a bus home.
A Garda sub-aqua unit today searched Lough Mourne and a feeder river near to where a pair of shoes believed to be Brendan's were discovered last night.
And a British coastguard Finner helicopter scoured the Donegal coastline, although it was forced to return to base this morning amid bad weather conditions.
Tonight Mrs Rushe, who spent the day alongside her husband John, in the search said: "I do not expect to find him alive now. I would just like to find him at this stage."
"We would like to appeal to any farmers or anybody in the country areas to check everywhere, such as barns or outhouses," his father added.
Today's search was concentrated around the Lough Mourne and Druminin area, five miles out of the town centre.
Searches of the town centre also continued.
Rescuers from the Killybegs coastguard team scoured the riverbanks while members of the Garda sub-aqua team searched the waters.
Brendan is 5ft 8in tall, of slim build and has dark brown short hair and brown eyes. He has braces on his teeth.
He was wearing a cream shirt, grey trousers and black shoes and had a black jumper with him when he went missing.
Last night Gardaí found a pair of shoes, which the Brendan’s family say belonged to him.