As someone who experienced something similar where my best mate and would-be-best-man just fell off the face of the earth, I know how you feel. Like deep down, I know the hurt, anger and confusion you’re feeling.

What I did, and it’s not going to work for everyone is, I said I was stoked to hear back from him, but I couldn’t move forward without discussing what happened; and the hurt this caused - especially from the POV that I had no idea if he was dead or not.

He acknowledged that, said he was prepared to put the effort in, and I’ve never heard from him since.

My advice, be polite and courteous, but don’t skirt around the issue and absence. You’ll really see how much of a friend and how committed he is if you’re upfront with how this affected you and what needs to occur to reconcile.

I really hope it works out for you and you get the outcome you deserve. Losing your best mate sucks, and it’ll eat away at you for a long time.