THE mother of a missing north Belfast man says her family has been left "devastated" by his sudden disappearance as searches to find him continue.
Rosemarie Cullen last night appealed directly to her 33-year-old son, Michael to come home.
Mr Cullen, who works as a Research Officer for Ulster University in Belfast, was last seen on Tuesday.
Rosemarie and Kevin Cullen, who live in the Cavehill area, reported their son missing when he failed to answer his phone or reply to text messages.
An award-winning beatboxer, who has been described as one of Ireland and the UK’s top performers, Michael is well-known in the music industry as `Cull - Human Beatbox'.
Regularly booked to perform at top corporate events by clients such as Google, the 33-year-old - who lives at home - has also been the support act for stars such as Stormzy,
Speaking last night, Mrs Cullen said her son had been "a bit down" over Christmas.
On Tuesday, Michael was seen by his father, Kevin at 11am however at 2pm when Mrs Cullen phoned her son he told her he was "going for a long walk".
"He said to me he was going to the gym," she said.
"I just thought he was so down. I wanted to keep an eye on him. I sent a text to say we would pick him up. He didn't reply. We were so worried. We contacted the police.
"We went down to the gym to look for him. I was with the police with pictures and they said he hadn't been there."
As members of the Cullen family and friends were out yesterday searching the Cavehill area, Mrs Cullen described her son as "a lovely, sociable boy" who was"very into music".
"It is very out-of-character," she said.
"He is so good at keeping in touch.
"We are really, really upset. We are just so worried. We just hope he will come home. We are praying he will walk in the door. We just want him to come home and be with us".
Appealing directly to her son Mrs Cullen said: "We love you. We just want you to come home."
Michael is described as being 5ft 11in tall with dark hair and a beard. When last seen, he was wearing a green puffa jacket, grey jumper and black trousers. Anyone with information can contact police on 101.
