A YOUNG man's death is linked to an online stalking campaign, his family believe.

Shortly after being told to kill himself by a girl he met on the internet, young roofer Mitchell Bowie was found hanged at his Redcar home on Sunday, July 31.

The night before, the tragic 18-year-old sent a photograph of himself with a noose around his neck to the girl, who claimed the pair had been in a relationship.

She forwarded the picture to Mr Bowie’s brother but her message was not picked up in time to save his life, as his sibling was camping in an area with no phone signal.

At Mr Bowie’s inquest on Tuesday, coroner Claire Bailey said she was not convinced that the young man had intended to take his own life, suggesting he may have wrapped a noose around his neck in a “show of bravado” that went tragically wrong.

Members of his family linked the act to a campaign of harassment that saw Mr Bowie regularly threatened after becoming embroiled with two girls online, one of whom they believe may never have existed at all.

Teesside Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Bowie broke off contact with a girl he met via the internet after she refused to meet him in person.

Soon after, he received messages from a person claiming to be that person's cousin, an underage girl who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Throughout his involvement with both, Mr Bowie was subject to a series of threats, warned that he would be stabbed and his house bombed and, on more than one occasion, told to kill himself.

His heartbroken family, who believe he had not met either girl in person, said the harassment left the teenager in fear of his life.

Mr Bowie’s sister, Sinead, said the first individual had tortured her brother and consistently made excuses not to meet him.

She suggested the girl and her ‘cousin’ may have been the same person, claiming police had not traced the person who made initial contact online or done enough to investigate the underage girl claiming to be her relative.

Officers had spoken to the girl but she was “not pressed for too much information” because no appropriate adult was present – she has since refused to give a formal statement.

Ms Bowie believes the girl may have used a fake Facebook profile to contact her brother, pretending to be her cousin in a tactic known as ‘catfishing’.

Catfishing sees people steal photographs and personal information to adopt a false identity online.

She said: “Police have never taken a detailed examination of who she is or what she is.

“These girls are not who they say they are.”

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Claire Bailey said she was satisfied that Mr Bowie’s death could be dealt with under her jurisdiction.

Saying Mr Bowie had killed himself inadvertently, she added: “Putting a noose around his neck was an act of bravado, it was a shock tactic rather than an intention to kill himself.

“Whatever happened, he has died as a result of it – I can’t say he committed suicide.”

At the time of his death, Mr Bowie was looking forward to spending time with his family and friends and had trips to Spain and Amsterdam planned.

He had recently passed his driving test and was enjoying working alongside his father as a roofer.

His family said he showed no signs of being suicidal, with his grandfather describing him as a happy young man with everything going for him.

He said: “Never in this world would he have killed himself, something has gone wrong.”