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Miles Copeland was born on 9th February 1979, along with his twin sister Sally. Miles and Sally spent the first 3 years of their lives together, Sally's small tongue making 'Milco' out of Miles Copeland, a nickname his father Aaron continued to use. His parents marriage was unhappy, Aaron being a violent drunk, frequently hitting Diana in his drunken states. Eventually when the twins were three, Diana had had enough, threatening to leave and deny him access to the children. Aaron took matters into his own hands, and ran away with Miles in the middle of the night, leaving Sally after deciding that the road was no place for a young girl. He lived outside the system so he could not be found by authorities.
In the years that followed Miles lived two lives, his first as Sally's imaginary friend. Tom and Pippa indulged Sally's imaginary friend, believing him to be someone of comfort to her when she was feeling sad or lonely. He was regularly forgotten by Tom and Pippa but Sally always defended him, insisting that it was him who wanted to move to Summer Bay. He was left behind in the Pilot Episode and the family had to go back for him and Sally explained he was afraid of the dark. He caused an argument when Sally insisted he be given a vote in the decision of whether Bobby came to live with them or not. Pippa then came and appealed to Milco to give Bobby a go and Milco changed his mind. Tom explained to Steven that Milco had been Sally's only friend during a difficult time of her life. When Neville told Sally about Mr Haggis living in his bagpipes and later admitted he was made up Sally stopped believing in Milco. He made a reappearance a year later when tom was missing, presumed dead in a storm but disappeared again when Dodge forced her to admit that he was made up.
Meanwhile, real Milco, Miles was living with his father, constantly on the move from the authorities when his father Aaron found an old newspaper article, reporting the death of Diana and her new husband Derek Wilson in a boating accident on the Barton River a few years earlier. Knowing that Sally would now be considered an orphan, he set about trying to find her. He took Miles to visit his grandmother, Mrs Keating, only to find the house had new owners, who told them that Sally had been fostered out. They tracked Mrs Keating down to a local nursing home where they found she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease. From the staff, they found out that Sally had been fostered by a couple in the city called the Fletchers, and were given an address to find them. However on arriving in the city they found that they were a week too late. The house was empty and a neighbour told them that the Fletchers had moved to a place called Summer Bay.
Aaron took Miles to Summer Bay, where Miles was looking forward to finally seeing his sister again. However once Aaron had seen Summer Bay, coupled with the glowing comments he had heard about Sally's new foster family, he decided that Sally would have a better life with the Fletchers. They left the bay without seeing Sally.
Following that, Aaron descended into a downward spiral. He stopped going to work and his drinking increased. Eventually, in 2000, when Miles was 19, Aaron died of alcohol related dementia.
Miles thought about trying to track down Sally, but had no idea where she was. He remembered going to Summer Bay when he was 8 years old, but to him it was just another town. Following his father's death he decided it was time to start living his life properly. He started working as a High School teacher, and fell in love with a young woman named Louise. They married and had a daughter Amber.
Unfortunately Miles' happiness was short lived. In 2004, on Boxing Day, the family were on holiday in the Thailand resort of Phuket when the tsunami hit. They tried their hardest to run back to the resort but they weren't fast enough. Louise and Amber were killed.
After that Miles' life fell apart, he returned to Australia and he had nothing left. He couldn't return to his job and began to drink - he became the man that he promised himself he never would be, his father. Eventually, he just walked away from his life completely, becoming a homeless guy drifting from town to town.
One day Miles arrived in Summer Bay, immediately remembering the town from his childhood. Part of him thought he should move on, but he decided to try and find Sally in an attempt to get his life back together.
Miles ended up outside on the beach outside the Beachside Diner, looking through the bins for something to eat. Roman took pity on him and told him to meet him around the back where he would give him some food, much to Irene's annoyance. Later on, he asked Roman if he knew where Sally lived, finding out that she lived at the Caravan Park.
The next day Miles came across Sally playing with Pippa on the beach, the first time he'd seen his twin sister in nearly 25 years. Rather than approaching her, he decided to write 'MILCO' in the sand, to see what her reaction would be. He hid in the bushes as Sally found the word, causing her much confusion.
He approached The Caravan Park and was given a van by Sally. He cleaned himself up and he and Sally grew close with her admitting to her counsellor that they had a connection. Miles confided in her that they had many similarities such as both being teachers and him having lost his wife. He finally told her the truth about his wife and daughter's death and Sally was supportive. This gave him courage and in an emotional episode Miles told Sally everything about their past.
Initially refusing to believe him, Sally then got her own memory back and recalled that Miles was her twin brother. Delighted at having a brother Sally told everyone she could think of and happily introduced him to all her friends and family. When Johnny Cooper escaped from prison Miles insisted on escorting her around time and blamed himself for opening the door the night Johnny forced his way in and stabbed Sally. He was relieved when she pulled through and in the aftermath formed a bond with Sally's foster mother Pippa.
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