When researching my topic, 'missing' was a term that appeared quite often. You could definitely say that being missing is also being lost. What I found rather unusual is the fact that it's not actually illegal to go missing. If you are an adult over the age of 18, are not under the mental health act or under the supervision of an adult, then you legally have the right to go missing. I found this unusual as I never would have expected it to actually be defined as legal or illegal or that you indeed have the RIGHT to go missing.
I would say going missing is something a lot of us would dream about doing but have never taken the steps in making it happen. I could only dream of going completely off the grid but a number of things keep me from not doing so and I believe I'm not the only one.
Reasons For Going Missing
The reasons why adults go missing are as varied as the individuals themselves. In some cases, several factors may contribute to a person’s disappearance.
There are a number of classifications used in describing the missing adult population. The classification below presents some of the major categories of missing adults.
Deliberate Disappearances: This includes adults who may be experiencing difficulties with significant people in their lives, financial issues, family breakdown or other problems that may be overwhelming. The decision to disappear is a way to escape the situation.
This also includes adults who decide to simply leave family and friends behind to start a new life elsewhere.
Suicide: Some adults disappear with the intention of committing suicide.
Adventure or Accident Victims: These adults include those who disappear while engaging in activities such as boating, adventure hiking, diving or other activities and experience a catastrophic event.
Drifters: Drifters are those who lead a more transient lifestyle. Over time, contact with family and friends is lost.
Unintentional Disappearances: This includes people such as those with dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease) who become lost or wander away from home. It can also include those who find themselves lost (e.g. while travelling, in a new city, etc.), overdue in terms of her/his expected arrival or misunderstanding/miscommunication of a meeting point.
Mental Health Issues: Some disappearances are due to undiagnosed or untreated mental health illnesses such as bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia. Addictions may be a factor as well.
Unknown Circumstances: In some cases, there is no clear reason that explains why the adult went missing. The explanation comes only after the person is located.
Foul Play/Suspicious Circumstances: These are disappearances that are the result of kidnapping, homicide, domestic violence, human trafficking or other criminal events. It is important to note that only a small portion of missing person cases are due to foul play.
Regardless of the reason for the disappearance, the trauma experienced by family and friends can be tremendous.
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