One Breath at a Time

Finally feeling better since that incredibly rude Facebook exchange the other day.
I got to work today and noticed that the email I had sent to my friend’s father had a reply in my inbox!
He told me that he was happy to hear from me (which I really needed to hear more than anyone will ever understand), and that his son had indeed gone astray in 2011 which is when they filed the report. They were notified months later that the city he was living in had found him but could not disclose the location because he was legally an adult. He then told me that Thanksgiving day of 2012, his son showed up at their house. Which I can’t say is a wonderful surprise or not since he disappeared yet again immediately after. He had asked the website to take down the report but they have not done so. To this day, I’m told he refuses to return phone calls, texts or any means of communication from them.

All I can say is that must be incredibly frustrating for that family. Please understand by no means am I trying to compare or undermine those who have had a loved one pass away, but this must be just as bad if not almost worse because they really have no closure. They don’t know if he’s dead, alive, in jail, homeless etc. But according to the source from earlier this week “he’s fine” and that’s all anyone needs to know.

It was so wonderful to hear from his father, it added that fuel that I lost just days ago to continue my search.

I also cleaned my Facebook friends list of those who mock my determination.
Moving forward

Am I Wrong?

I’ve just recently started taking real steps toward finding my friend. In other aspects of my life I am not one to ask for help from others. I hate feeling like I need someone to do something I can do on my own.
This event is further proof why.
I was hesitant already about asking other people who had last seen him, or even his family (the ones to put out the missing persons report) about him. I kinda wanted to do it on my own.
And there was also a past that I didn’t want to tint the glasses of the people I was asking looking at the situation.

I started with his dad.
Who, the last time I saw him, was very distraught about not having heard from his son in a year. Of course cleverly hiding it for he was the face of a company after his own name and a future councilman. He has always been so kind and welcoming to me and makes a conscious effort to say hello when we meet.
I thought about calling him. No, that won’t do. Is that too bold? He is on Facebook…
So the nervous yet tech savvy side of me won the argument. I sent him a brief message about stumbling upon the report and letting him know that I had spoken to his son since then. I asked if anything had changed.
As I feared, that little check mark of death appeared saying that my message had been read. But with no response.
Which, in my world, is usually a normal thing. But the last time I saw him and his daughter, she ran up to me once I told her I had been in contact with her brother and frantically took my number asking me to let us know when I hear anything else. A non response just isn’t the kind of thing you’d expect from someone in that position.

This is starting off terribly.
I reluctantly decided to move onto the friends he had seen (as far as I know) last. They both had not seen him in a good few months, but one girl recommended I contact a friend we both went to high school with who might know something. I thanked her and did as she suggested. The reply was not at all what I expected. I will not copy and paste the message for identity purposes, but it went something like this:

“She should have asked me herself. Or better yet, ask him. He is fine. Don’t use me as your middle man. And do me a favor, don’t reply to this message because I won’t be replying to any of yours”.

I am still speechless on this one.
If by some reason the guy that wrote that is reading this, I apologize for having offended you in any way, but I just want to know where my friend is. That’s all. He may be fine, but I don’t think a family that is patiently waiting for their M.I.A. son to return is fine.

Some of the last conversations I had between me and my friend were our plans to meet up. Either here or there. He seemed to be looking forward to reuniting. Should I be ok with “he’s fine”?

Am I wrong?

C.R. Wednesday

I am on a manhunt.

I’ve always been unusually talented in finding out information I shouldn’t know.
I’m nosy and and when I want to know something I will find out.
When they filmed “Water For Elephants” here I followed all the clues that led me to Robert Pattinson and I was among the 7 people who got to meet the cast and crew. I prefer the term “detective” rather than “stalker” 😛 But it’s always been just for fun, as a joke or even as a dare among friends.
This time I’m looking to use my skills for a real situation. A….friend… of mine is missing. A lot of people in the world say to themselves at some point or another “I wish I could just go off the radar/fall off the face of the earth”. Well this guy did it. Really. His family has no clue where’s he’s been since 2011. I’ve spoken to him on several occasions since then. Our last interaction was June of this year.
Just last week I found a missing persons report on him. S**t just got real.

The thing that really got me was how casual all of his “best friends”, or former friends, were about it. It was no big deal.
I miss him horribly and I feel in my gut he’s still alive.

And I will find him