Mum’s heartache as cruel Tinder trolls use tragic soldier son’s photos to create fake dating profile
Soldier Shaun Cole, 22, of Edinburgh, died in Miami during a trip with pals but a shocked friend spotted the bogus profile online
THE mum of a squaddie who died in a fall while on holiday in the US has blasted trolls who used his pics to create a fake Tinder profile.
Michele Beattie claims the cruel dating app stunt is tarnishing the memory of son Shaun Cole, 22.
The soldier, from Edinburgh, perished in Miami during a trip with pals — but a shocked friend spotted the bogus profile ahead of the fourth anniversary of his death.
Michele, 56, said: “I am disgusted and hurt that someone would do this. I only found it when it went up on Facebook.
“Someone who knows Shaun matched him on Tinder and that’s how his friends found out. They are still really loyal to him — it hurts them as much as it hurts us.”
The bank worker continued: “Whoever is behind this isn’t letting him rest in peace and we are not getting a chance to grieve properly.
“When I wake up I think it’s going to be a good day — then stuff like this happens.
“Shaun would not have gone on Tinder or any dating apps.
“Whoever did this might think it’s funny but we miss him every day. This is tarnishing his memory.”
Michele was heartbroken in 2017 when hackers blocked her from getting into Shaun’s Facebook page to share news of a skydive in his honour.
Michele Beattie claims the stunt is tarnishing the memory of ShaunShe added: “These things always seem to happen around the anniversary of his death. Shaun was such a lovely guy, we are fed up with this stuff.
“His sister and his dad’s side are all hurting over this too.”
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Shaun’s stepdad Nick Beattie, 52, added: “It is worrying as someone could be off to meet the person behind the profile thinking it’s Shaun.”
Royal Scots Borderer Shaun died in an accident in March 2015 after travelling to a US music festival following a tour of Sierra Leone, Africa.
A hit-and-run was initially feared when the army private was found dead in the street near his Florida hotel. But CCTV later showed him falling from a building.
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