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People Who Just Disappear (Go Missing)

I understand that the vast majority of missing person reports in the UK come from childrens homes and similar care settings and relate to troubled kids who have either absconded or not returned at the agreed time. These establishments are required to contact the police immediately when they discover a child in their care is unaccounted for. Many of these kids will be ’disappearing’ multiple times a week and a lot of police time and resources are spent on rounding them up and returning them, just for them to do it again the next day.
I wish the local childrens home would be more vigilant with those in their care. It's common to see or hear escapees in the early hours causing havoc in the locality. I contacted the Police in the last incident and swarms of Police arrived within minutes and scooped them up. Hasn't stopped them though.
It must be difficult controlling some of these kids and someone who I know gave up the job because he was sick of, for example, 13/ 14 year old girls offering to give him a BJ if he would let them out for the night. So incredibly sad for all concerned.
 
They were going to look at her Fitbit. I wonder if that’s brought anything up. If it’s got heart rate and transmitted before she was too far away from her phone, they could see what her pulse was doing.
I don't have a Fitbit but my heart rate monitor has to be prompted to talk to my phone about the data it has rather than continually transmitting it.
 
But a lone woman who might, just, also have turned out to have run away.
Yup, resources have to be directed towards the vulnerable. It makes sense that a troubled young teenager is more vulnerable than an able-bodied adult woman with no known mental health issues. The teenager should be reported missing right away and looked for whereas the woman might be expected to turn up with a story about where she's been.
 
I was reading an article yesterday by a former Met Police Chief who was saying the whole investigation has been botched. He was saying that the whole immediate area should have been sealed off. He was explaining that on the investigations he had done that were similar cases to this, the first port of call was to seal off the surrounding area. He couldn't understand why this hasn't been done.
It does seem a trend in unsolved cases that the authorities have set off in a wrong direction from the outset. I haven't expressed that very well, but can't think how to put it better.
 
In the Nicola Bulley case it's just been reported on the BBC News at One that apparently there was some vulnerability regarding her that led the police to prioritize their search for her from the start. Just what that vulnerability was has not been revealed.
 
I wish the local childrens home would be more vigilant with those in their care. It's common to see or hear escapees in the early hours causing havoc in the locality. I contacted the Police in the last incident and swarms of Police arrived within minutes and scooped them up. Hasn't stopped them though.
It must be difficult controlling some of these kids ...

I don’t know whether it’s still the case, but l have no reason to doubt that they are still labouring under the restrictions that applied when l was on patrol: Staff at the kids’ homes were forbidden from locking the kids in their rooms, or even in the building; they couldn’t even physically intervene in any way to prevent a child from simply walking out of the facility.

It was so common as to be unremarkable for a bobby to return a child to the home, and have them climb out of the window and be off again within minutes.

Some nights, the fax line between the social workers and the nick positively hummed.

maximus otter
 
I wish the local childrens home would be more vigilant with those in their care. It's common to see or hear escapees in the early hours causing havoc in the locality. I contacted the Police in the last incident and swarms of Police arrived within minutes and scooped them up. Hasn't stopped them though.
It must be difficult controlling some of these kids and someone who I know gave up the job because he was sick of, for example, 13/ 14 year old girls offering to give him a BJ if he would let them out for the night. So incredibly sad for all concerned.
You can't just imprison people because they come from broken homes / difficult environments. If we did we'd be back to the days of the workhouses. Sometimes things are going to go wrong whatever anyone does.

Basically, you cannot guarantee a good outcome for everyone. You can only put things in place and hope people can manage to use them - I speak from personal experience - most professional people trying to help me (not here) are an annoying nuisance only listening to what is in their head and not what I am. My own GP is an honourable exception.
 
You can't just imprison people because they come from broken homes / difficult environments. If we did we'd be back to the days of the workhouses. Sometimes things are going to go wrong whatever anyone does.
Yup, when I worked with troubled teens the aim was often to keep them alive long enough for their natural self-preservation to kick in. This is how damaged many were.
 
It does seem a trend in unsolved cases that the authorities have set off in a wrong direction from the outset. I haven't expressed that very well, but can't think how to put it better.
I'm wondering if a case is unsolved because of poor management or is poor management being used to explain why it's unsolved?
Hindsight is 20/20, after all.
 
A friend mentioned yesterday that one of his clients had discussed the disappearance of his 70 something brother a few weeks ago. His car was found on the sea front at Thornton Cleveleys (less than 10 miles away from St Michaels). He could get no publicity unlike what's happening in the NB case and was frantic with worry.
 
A friend mentioned yesterday that one of his clients had discussed the disappearance of his 70 something brother a few weeks ago. His car was found on the sea front at Thornton Cleveleys (less than 10 miles away from St Michaels). He could get no publicity unlike what's happening in the NB case and was frantic with worry.
That's so awful. I hope the man is found safe.

There is a hierarchy of newsworthiness when it comes to missing people, and 70-odd year-old gentlemen are near the bottom. :(

Having said that, local news and social media are often helpful.
 
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Actor Mackenzie Crook has appealed for help in finding his sister-in-law, who has gone missing in West Sussex.

The star, known for his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and The Office, is part of a search party looking for Laurel Aldridge.


Mackenzie Crook appeals for help to find missing sister-in-law https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-64684582
New images have been released of actor Mackenzie Crook's missing sister-in-law who police say they are concerned for as she is "very vulnerable".

Laurel Aldridge, 62, who was undergoing chemotherapy, left home in Walberton, near Arundel, on Tuesday morning and has not been seen since.

New images of Mackenzie Crook's missing sister-in-law Laurel Aldridge https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-64688891
 
I hope that the Bulley case finally brings the numbers of unsolved missing persons cases to public attention.
Most missing persons cases to get solved but it must be traumatic in the extreme for family and friends in the case of unsolved cases. What's also of concern are those cases where people have been found dead, in some cases where they have died years ago, and never reported as missing.
 
My Fathers brother disappeared in the early 1960’s. I can just about remember him and the strange atmosphere at home. He got on a train and was gone. My Grandparents spent a lot of time and money looking for him. In 2019 my brother was contacted by a woman claiming to be our cousin, seems he went to South Africa and started a new life. The weird thing is my Grandmother did track him down, but did not tell rest of family until just before she died.
 
Not everyone who goes missing, wants to be found. Sometimes it's suicide and not wanting to burden family with that sadness and sometimes it's simply leaving a life for another life and wanting to cut all contact with the past.
It would be good if they felt they could leave a message for family and friends just letting them know that they don't wish to be looked for, but sometimes cutting all ties means not even doing this.
 
Not everyone who goes missing, wants to be found. Sometimes it's suicide and not wanting to burden family with that sadness and sometimes it's simply leaving a life for another life and wanting to cut all contact with the past.
It would be good if they felt they could leave a message for family and friends just letting them know that they don't wish to be looked for, but sometimes cutting all ties means not even doing this.
I'm sure someone on here pointed out that there is an organisation where missing people can ask for a message to be given to relatives that they are ok but don't want contact etc. Salvation Army perhaps? Would at least alleviate part of the horrendous stress.
 
What's interesting is that with the development of the internet, social media, state surveillance, private business surveillance and so on, and so on, people still disappear.
The UK isn't so big as there's wilderness as such, but there's moors, waste ground (remaining undeveloped for years), property that has been long abandoned. When you hear of bodies being discovered - most commonly by dog walkers - they're in relatively populated areas. Victims of murder tend to be buried in very remote places, thus are most likely to remain 'vanished'.
The idea of dropping out and living off-grid as a tramp is most common. Just taking up a new life is possible, but usually for the wealthy who can afford to pre-create an alternative life - after all, to live an 'ordinary' life we require ample identification and a heck of a paper-trail. It's not so simple as most action/thriller films portray.
I suppose what interests me is that with the modern world's coverage of surveillance and administrative bureaucracy, combined with the UK's geography, it's increasingly unusual for people to 'permanently' vanish without trace. Thus, perhaps, this caused the media frenzy among the media and public.
 
I'm sure someone on here pointed out that there is an organisation where missing people can ask for a message to be given to relatives that they are ok but don't want contact etc. Salvation Army perhaps? Would at least alleviate part of the horrendous stress.
But sometimes they don't want to. Particularly if the relatives who are searching for them are the reason that they disappeared. Maybe they think the stress and not knowing is payback.
 
There is the ongoing mystery of Sydney woman Melissa Caddick, now presumed dead, though not conclusively despite her foot washing up on a beach sometime after her disappearance. Some theories say she had it deliberately removed to throw the law off track while she made her escape. Bizarre I know, but the entire story is strange:

Her Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Caddick

Fraudster Melissa Caddick’s missing 30 hours explained​

The search for answers in one of the country’s most compelling mysteries took a step towards resolution this week.
On the morning of November 12, 2020, with the sun only minutes away from rising above the cliffs of Dover Heights, Melissa Caddick is believed to have walked several hundred metres to a nearby reserve and taken her own life, an inquest has been told.
The search for answers in one of the country’s most compelling mysteries took a step towards resolution this week, as an inquest into Ms Caddick’s disappearance and suspected death heard some of its final evidence.

Ms Caddick, 49, vanished from her palatial Dover Heights home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs more than two years ago, never to be seen or heard from again.

Her disappearance came amid an investigation by the financial watchdog ASIC, which has accused her of ripping off $23m from investors and raided her home a day before she went missing.

The inquest has been told that early on in their investigation, police ruled out foul play and concentrated on two theories – that she had gone on the run to escape justice or had died by suicide.

A senior cop in charge of the investigation told the inquest this week that proof of life checks found no evidence that Ms Caddick was still alive and he believed she died in the rocks and sea below Rodney Reserve on November 12, 2020.
https://www.news.com.au/national/ns...d/news-story/1a3f313ad48577abf80960319f8737fc

There is now a podcast on the mystery:

Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions
 
What's interesting is that with the development of the internet, social media, state surveillance, private business surveillance and so on, and so on, people still disappear.
The UK isn't so big as there's wilderness as such, but there's moors, waste ground (remaining undeveloped for years), property that has been long abandoned. When you hear of bodies being discovered - most commonly by dog walkers - they're in relatively populated areas. Victims of murder tend to be buried in very remote places, thus are most likely to remain 'vanished'.
The idea of dropping out and living off-grid as a tramp is most common. Just taking up a new life is possible, but usually for the wealthy who can afford to pre-create an alternative life - after all, to live an 'ordinary' life we require ample identification and a heck of a paper-trail. It's not so simple as most action/thriller films portray.
I suppose what interests me is that with the modern world's coverage of surveillance and administrative bureaucracy, combined with the UK's geography, it's increasingly unusual for people to 'permanently' vanish without trace. Thus, perhaps, this caused the media frenzy among the media and public.
We were driving over the moors above Manchester the other week, it's very remote, I did comment I bet there is quite a few buried up here the only trouble is, access
 
What's interesting is that with the development of the internet, social media, state surveillance, private business surveillance and so on, and so on, people still disappear.
The UK isn't so big as there's wilderness as such, but there's moors, waste ground (remaining undeveloped for years), property that has been long abandoned. When you hear of bodies being discovered - most commonly by dog walkers - they're in relatively populated areas. Victims of murder tend to be buried in very remote places, thus are most likely to remain 'vanished'.
The idea of dropping out and living off-grid as a tramp is most common. Just taking up a new life is possible, but usually for the wealthy who can afford to pre-create an alternative life - after all, to live an 'ordinary' life we require ample identification and a heck of a paper-trail. It's not so simple as most action/thriller films portray.
I suppose what interests me is that with the modern world's coverage of surveillance and administrative bureaucracy, combined with the UK's geography, it's increasingly unusual for people to 'permanently' vanish without trace. Thus, perhaps, this caused the media frenzy among the media and public.
There are surprisingly remote places even in relatively tame areas, such as Hampshire for example, which you would not normally associate with being easy to disappear in. I did a hike a year or two ago in north Hampshire and found myself in an area of mixed woodland and fields where nothing actually had a specific name, and no farm outbuildings or roads for 1km in each direction, and no actual habitations for more than that; anything could happen in such places, let alone in places which actually are remote. My hikes are often off the beaten track and it makes me realise how much can potentially happen and no-one would know - and that's on public footpaths; if someone takes off across privately owned farmland without public access, it can be even more remote.

I remember that case a while ago where a woman had disappeared on a mountain trail in northern Spain, and the boyfriend was convinced someone must have attacked her because he had walked the trails and if she had fallen, he would have seen her body. I thought how hopelessly naive that was, people falling don't always end up where you can see them, there are hollows and boulders and thickets that would swallow a person up; in the end a bone turned up IIRC; she had fallen, and wasn't visible from the trail.
 
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But sometimes they don't want to. Particularly if the relatives who are searching for them are the reason that they disappeared. Maybe they think the stress and not knowing is payback.
Looking back on this as an adult, I think this may have been the case with my uncle. Certainly his mother was not a very likeable woman and although I got on well with her his wife was definitely a strong personality.

However, our "new cousin" seems very nice- not physically met yet because of lockdown and geography!
 
But sometimes they don't want to. Particularly if the relatives who are searching for them are the reason that they disappeared. Maybe they think the stress and not knowing is payback.
Exactly. People have very good reasons for disappearing and not wanting any form of contact in some cases.
 
As we have seen in the recent case, it is amazing how people, including some so called experts, cannot accept simple explanations.
I think, quite often, that the relations don't WANT to believe a simple explanation. They know their relative to be a careful person, an experienced climber, walker, rambler, whatever, so they just can't wrap their head around the fact that even the most conscientious and careful person can mis-step, slip or fall. And that nature can be unforgiving.
 
Even relatively benign countryside can turn hostile in a hurry, if the weather really sets in. And that is not taking into account people who head off for the express purpose of suicide. Some years ago, in a local beauty spot that is heavily frequented by dog-walkers, joggers etc. someone's dog came back with a human bone from someone who had disappeared without trace over a year earlier (sorry, I would have posted more details but Google wasn't particularly cooperative). As I recall, this person had taken themselves into a thicket off one of the footpaths and committed suicide, and the body not found until said dog found the bone, leading to a police search finding the skeleton. :(
Ha! This has been bothering me for a while, so I abandoned Google and tried Yahoo, and found the story:

Body found near missing Hindhead man's home (Get Surrey, July 2013)

FEARS have been voiced by the family and friends of missing Hindhead builder Paul Read after a body was found in woods close to his home on Monday night.

The much-loved 48-year-old father and grandfather disappeared after a night out with friends more than a year ago.

[...]

This week, Surrey Police said they had received a call at 7.13pm on Monday from a resident whose dog had discovered what appeared to be human bones in dense woodland at the back of Tower Road in Hindhead.
From memory, his remains were found at the Devil's Punchbowl, a well known and much visited local beauty spot, although the article seems to indicate Golden Valley, also much frequented by local dog walkers and joggers. Map below shows both:

Hindhead.png
 
I’ve mentioned before about the brother of a friend of mine just going missing for weeks. No activity on his bank account, etc.
His brother knew of no reason he would just vanish and they were pretty close.

His body was found weeks later in a field of wheat, next to his bike. He liked biking out around the villages and it was supposed that he went through the field gate on his bike, possibly just to rest or have a drink of water and was still on the bike when it must have hit a stone or a clod of earth. His neck was broken and the wheat just carried on growing and hid him.
I remember being horrified when his brother told me. It seemed such a stupid, pointless accident to happen to someone just out for a bike ride. And it shows how easy it is for the land (or in this case the growing crop) to conceal a body. A lot of the crop fields have open gateways that you can just ride or walk into, I’ve done it myself. Some have footpaths around the edges. I can imagine someone just biking in, not even going fast, ready to pull up and rest and then that :(
 
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