The 'face of heroin and meth': Mother shares heartbreaking photos of her drug-addicted son taken just seven months apart, revealing his horrific descent from healthy and athletic to gaunt and emaciated

A mother has shared heartbreaking pictures of her son showing how he became emaciated and gaunt after spiraling into drug addiction.

Jennifer Salfen-Tracy posted before and after images of Cody Bishop taken just seven months apart.

In the first image he is pictured looking athletic and fresh-faced, but in the second image Bishop's face appears more gaunt and his emaciated body looks much thinner, with track marks from intravenous injecting clearly visible along his lower arms.

The 26-year-old, who previously played high school sports, is almost unrecognizable. His mother described him as the 'face of heroin and meth' in her viral post on Wednesday.

Cody Bishop pictured (above) in an image posted on social media by his mother shows him gaunt and emaciated with track marks along his forearms from heroin addiction 

Jennifer Salfen-Tracy wrote a heartfelt message on Facebook telling of her son's drug problems and showing the stark contrast between him before and after his slide into addiction

Salfen-Tracy revealed she had not seen her son in weeks and believes he is deep in a spiral of addiction, probably living on the streets somewhere in Las Vegas. 

The distraught mother, from Wentzville, Missouri, said she decided to share her story because many people in her community has been asking about her eldest son.  

In her social media post that has been shared more than 40,000 times, Salfen-Tracy wrote: 'These pictures were taken 7 months apart.

'The face of heroin and meth......is reality for so many people and families in this world today.'

Bishop was an athlete who graduated from Wentzville Holt High School, Missouri, in 2011, according to KSDK. 

His Facebook page states he started a job at All Inclusive Concrete Systems in March.

But Salfen-Tracy revealed that he is now homeless in Las Vegas and she has not heard from him in weeks.

A missing persons page said Bishop had previously been reported missing to Las Vegas Police in May after his family reported concerns for his wellbeing. 

Just seven months earlier 26-year-old Bishop looked healthy and fresh-faced in a 'before' picture his mother posted on Facebook 

She added that Bishop is also a father and finds it difficult to understand how someone who has children 'who love and need them live the life they do'.

Salfen-Tracy wrote: 'Cody is still homeless in Las Vegas and I have not heard from him in weeks now.

'Hearing how bad he is doing is hard but not hearing at all is worse. The unknown is what makes a person not sleep at night.

'It is hard to understand how someone who has families and children who love and need them live the life they do.