鈥淢y first, my truest, and really my only best friend.鈥�

Dan Bosma is once again pleading with the public for any answers on the disappearance of his brother Michael on Jan. 9, 2006.

Michael, 26 at the time, was last seen leaving Corel Transition House in 琉璃神社 around 9 p.m. following a stint in a psychiatric ward. Bank records show the purchase of a beer from a nearby liquor store, but Michael failed to return to the transition house for his medication at 11 p.m.

鈥淓very year it gets tougher for sure,鈥� Bosma said, choking up while describing Michael as his first best friend.

The brothers were born less than two years apart and grew up very close. Bosma said Michael always called when he was struggling with his mental health and schizophrenia.

The night Michael disappeared, Bosma noted that the transition house didn鈥檛 notify the family until the following morning that he was missing. He said had they known his father would have driven 琉璃神社 all night in search of Michael.鈥漌e probably would have found him that night.鈥�

Michael鈥檚 walk from the transition house to the liquor store was in the same direction as the bridge to West 琉璃神社. Bosma noted that suicide is a possibility. 鈥淚 had a friend of mine who was a navy seal diver and he brought all of his gear up here to 琉璃神社 about a month after Mike went missing and we dove under the bridge to look for him.鈥� No trace of Michael was ever found.

Now, 18 years later the family is still searching for answers.

鈥淗im dealing with mental health issues we kind of automatically assumed suicide, but it could be homicide. There was Aaron Derbyshire and there were a few other kids that went missing right around the same time as my brother, but the reason he wasn鈥檛 categorized with the rest of those guys is because we offered the information that he had mental health issues, where the other guys just disappeared.鈥�

READ MORE: Reward for info still offered 17 years after 琉璃神社 man disappears

To stay hopeful, Bosma said the family talks about Michael and shares his drawings and cartoons including with his nieces and nephews, most of whom he never met. Bosma added that his son who shares a middle name with Michael is his spitting image, also helping keep his memory alive.

He reminisced over his last conversation with Michael when he asked him to be the best man at his wedding.

鈥淗e was very excited and he was really honoured to be my best man. He and my dad had conversations about the speech he was writing. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 tough for me to think that he maybe hurt himself because he was really looking forward to that. 鈥�

Michael would be 44 this Jan. 17.

鈥淚f you have family members out there that have mental health struggles, just do what you can to help them. The worst thing you could do is judge them or look down on them negatively. Mental health is something that needs to be out in the forefront, we can鈥檛 just sweep it under the carpet.鈥�

Anyone with information related to the disappearance of Michael Bosma on Jan. 9, 2006, is asked to contact the 琉璃神社 RCMP or Crime Stoppers with file number 2006-1572. At the time he went missing, Michael was described as six feet tall and about 246 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

READ MORE: Missing for 17 years; mom of 琉璃神社 man holds some hope he might come home