[duffdevice]

I don't mean to be callous, but what exactly are you asking for help with? He's not a 4 year old child, he's not an elderly person with dementia. He's a grown man. If he can't be found, apparently he doesn't want to be found. Are we concerned that he is somehow wandering around town without access to any means of communication? I don't get this.

[MarkPNeyer]

> He's not a 4 year old child, he's not an elderly person with dementia. He's a grown man.

He could be a grown man suffering from psychosis.

[gojomo]

Without knowing him or his details specifically, but considering the range of possibilities generically:

A person in such a situation could be the victim of a crime or accident, or of a health episode – physical or mental – that's caused temporary incapacitation. That incapacitation might mean they're still ambulatory, but confused and in need of help, or alternatively trapped/disabled/unconscious somewhere – perhaps even not far from help, if people were just perceptive enough to notice.

Consider, for example, the case of the patient lost and deceased in the stairwell of the SF General Hospital last year: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-S-F-General-lost-t...

A slightly more thorough search, rather than the assumption "she's an adult, she must have wandered off the grounds for her own purposes", might have discovered her unconscious in time to save her life.

Of course, if in any such case the person truly is a competent adult devoutly not wanting to be found, they won't be. But if friends/family are concerned, it's better to trust their particular knowledge.

[rpicard]

This is what I was wondering as well. If someone that understands what's going on could better inform me, I'd appreciate it. Was he last seen going hiking or something? Has he just not been on the internet in a while?

Are we supposed to call the police if we see him in Starbucks?

[moocowduckquack]

Grown men, despite what you may have heard, sometimes need a little help too.

[duffdevice]

Obviously this is true, but rarely do they need help being physically located. If he needs psychological help or emotional support, clearly that is a different matter, and not something that can be provided by rallying as many random, well-meaning strangers as possible...I still fail to see what is being requested here.

[rurounijones]

hard to render psychological help or emotional support if you cannot find the guy who needs the help.