How does one vanish from society?

Triple_Se7en said:
1) involuntary crime committed against this friend
2) voluntary suicide (easiest way by sea)
3) spontaneous combustion (really rare)
4) move to a remote wilderness in Utah like Ted Kaczynski did
5) abducted by space ship aliens (yes, it's happened)
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6) homelessness under an assumed name

If you had no cell phone, no income, nothing to speak of-how could you be tracked?
 
SC Maintenance said:
I had a friend I worked with years ago. When I left that company we stayed in touch - would talk maybe once a month, etc, see each other a few times a year when I was in his city, etc. He was a very likeable guy, we had lots of mutual friends.

He left and went to work for a customer of mine, and we had several mutual acquaintances at that place. One day he called to tell me he was quitting that place, said he had some personal things to deal with but was living same place and we should get together my next trip there. A month later he wouldn't respond to my emails and his phone was disconnected.

A number of mutual friends have called me over the years to see if I have ever heard from him - so obviously he wasn't just avoiding me. He has a unique name, I have tried google and all his info for places he lived to that point are still there, but nothing after that point.

So I wonder how someone disappears in todays society by choice or other. I can think of a few.

1) Death, although I think an obituary would end up on the web?
2) long term illness - end up on disability - obviously never have a residence in your name.
3) incarceration or commitment to some sort of institution? Not sure how that ends up working but I assume they would suppress that information?
4) Leave the country for whatever reason?

Thoughts? I am not really looking to reach him - my number and email have not changed and I am easy to find if he wanted although I hope he is OK. I just find it odd. Many others who ask me about him do as well.

I hope he is serving cocktails on a tropical beach somewhere, but unfortunately I doubt that is true.
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Did he have family, friends, coworkers? You can't be the only who noticed his disappearance. The IRS should be looking. Maybe everyone who's been looking for him has also disappeared.
 
SC Maintenance said:
1) Death, although I think an obituary would end up on the web?
2) long term illness - end up on disability - obviously never have a residence in your name.
3) incarceration or commitment to some sort of institution?
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Was he married? Have a family? I vote for #1. Many people die and there is no obit. Unless a family member or friend writes one, how would anyone know? He could have had an illness he didn't mention and has died or is incapacitated, so 2 or 3 are possible too.
 
nomas said:
If somebody is actively looking for you , your odds of disappearing get slimmer .
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If somebody 'professional' is paid well to look for you, odds of a long-term disappearance get slimmer than slim, with today's technology.

However, multiple sorts of masking surgeries would certainly aid the person interested in not being found again.
 
Oillover said:
Death is still a highly possible option, as not everyone has an obituary after they pass.
I had a childhood friend who died several years ago. My family was close with his for decades.
He never had kids/wife etc. and just went about his business by himself.
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Unfortunately I am now thinking death from whatever cause is the most logical explanation. I have likely subconsciously
suppressed the idea till now. Not sure why I was thinking of him today.

bullwinkle said:
6) homelessness under an assumed name

If you had no cell phone, no income, nothing to speak of-how could you be tracked?
Click to expand...

I hope not. He would be welcome to stay here.

vavavroom said:
Did he have family, friends, coworkers? You can't be the only who noticed his disappearance. The IRS should be looking. Maybe everyone who's been looking for him has also disappeared.
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His co-workers have asked me. He did live alone - was divorced, one grown child whom he talked about a lot but I hadn't seen myself in years. I met some other family members in passing. I have never looked for them because I have never went looking for my friend other than google. I always figured he had his own reasons to leave and would contact me if he wished. Perhaps that was not the right move.
 
ripcord said:
The authorities could find you without too much trouble if you used credit and bank cards, but it would be pretty hard for normal folks to track you down
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That's what I was thinking. If you (the OP) really want to track this guy down, you may have to hire a PI who has sources and contacts in the right places.
 
You may have been his friend but if he left without any apparent trace how good a friend was he to you? They say 'bad news travels fast' for a reason - bad news will out and does. Unless he was living like a hermit in a secluded area or if he went missing during some kind of solitary excursion it's unlikely that he wanted you and maybe anybody else to know why he left, where he went, or what happened to him. And then we circle back to how good a friend was he to you? I fully understand your concern and curiosity.

People I knew or was friends with have died. News has always reached me even if I haven't had any contact with them or any mutual acquaintance. Word gets around. I was shocked to find out very recently one of my best friends from high school died last year. I don't know what happened but I already tracked down his father and sister and will find out very soon.

By the way, I know a fellow UK-born guy who, upon becoming a US citizen, changed his last name to his mother's maiden name. He could have chosen any name. Birth records are the real snag as is your history with your contemporaries.
 
Probably wouldn't happen today with technology. But I once knew a guy who worked as a welder in a nearby fabricating facility. He was nice, polite and generally kept to himself and a reliable employee. Upon his death it was discovered that he had gone missing from his well off family on the other side of Baltimore. He owned an amusement park and just up and left one day without a trace. So you never know...
 
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