Balloons were released on Fraserburgh beach at the weekend to mark missing Shaun Ritchie’s 21st birthday.
About 30 of Mr Ritchie’s friends and family gathered for the poignant event, which comes six months after he disappeared after a night out with friends.
A massive search was launched after he disappeared near Strichen over Halloween, but police and specialist rescue teams have yet to establish his whereabouts.
His desperate father Charlie Reid, has offered an award of up to £5,000 for any information that can bring his son home.
In the meantime, his family were forced to celebrate his landmark birthday without him by their side.
His sister, Nicole Shand, planned the event at Fraserburgh’s beach on Saturday, where around 30 friends and family members released balloons into the sky as a touching tribute.
Last night, the 18-year-old said it was the hardest thing she has ever had to do.
“There was a good turnout. A lot of his friends came, so I’m thankful for them,” she added.
“It was a horrible day. I never thought I’d have to pay a tribute to him because of him not being here. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.
“We’ll continue to ask people if they have information to come forward, and I’ll have to keep going through this nightmare.”
Last month, it emerged that a 999 call was received by police on the night that Shaun disappeared from the Greenburn area of Strichen.
Mr Ritchie’s mum Carol-Ann said the call was one of two made from a property close to where the 20-year-old was last seen.
In the first conversation, a man asked for police to come to a farm in the Greenburn area, north-west of Strichen.
Shortly afterwards operators were contacted again and told officers were no longer needed.
As well as offering the reward, Mr Ritchie sen has launched a Facebook page to continue to campaign for information about Shaun.
Mr Reid said: “I am not interested in finger pointing and blame, I just want to find Shaun.”
Meanwhile, Inspector Stuart Drummond, the senior officer leading the inquiry into the disappearance, has stressed there is no evidence to suggest that Shaun has been the victim of a crime.
