20 Intriguing Stories From People Who Were Once Declared Missing Detailing How They Got Lost Or Why They Deliberately Hid

"Googling statute of limitations... When I was 16 I stole $5,000."

Chelsi

• Published in Weird
• March 16, 2024

Most missing persons' stories have sinister endings. We can only watch in horror as the grief-stricken family of the victim pleads for their loved one's location.

The anxiety of not knowing where or what happened to your relative must be paralyzing. The relief must be unbelievable for those who successfully find their loved one after enduring hours of not knowing if they would be able to.

We got a rare glimpse of how those hours go from the perspective of the missing person. People who were lost or declared missing by heart-sick loved ones shared their experiences and how it happened.

Based on the 6.8k responses, people go missing more than we hear about. From kids who wandered beyond their neighborhood to those who deliberately ran away, these Redditors candidly shared their extraordinary experiences.

There will be no mysteries to solve for crime documentary aficionados. Well, except for the airman who went missing for 12 days and has no recollection of it.

Most of these cases showed how important it is to communicate with a trusted person when you are planning to go off the grid for a few days. Here are the top 20 answers shared by forthcoming Redditors who were lost or declared missing but were eventually found.

1. Dad learned not to judge a book by its cover that night.

2. Those sketchy-looking kids that his father judged too soon made sure OP was safe while they looked for his parents.

3. The walk of shame back to the dorms must have been brutal.

4. OP could have easily been clipped by a vehicle during his eventful sleepwalking episode.

5. This seems like a nightmare scenario.

6. There were so many ways they could have been in a fatal accident.

7. His mom was at the hospital to visit his dad and neglected to tell him that she would be late.

8. OP was a teenager who had something to prove.

9. The recommendation doesn't involve the part where you don't give your parents a head's up.

10. No further information has been provided by this intriguing Redditor.

11. If left long enough, they would have been adopted by the birds.

12. A few seconds later, and they would have started crafting a makeshift bag to tie at the end of a stick.

13. OP said in a reply that they were dismissed by the USAF and their disappearance counted as AWOL.

14. Can barely talk, can barely walk, but brave enough to do things without inhibitions. The comparison holds up.

15. A rare missing person story that is not cloaked in dread.

16. The OP just excels at getting "lost."

17. I can't really blame the mom for worrying.

18. It certainly was an unforgettable welcome for their in-laws.

19. A legendary game of hide and seek that resulted in a search party.

20. If not for their brother's boredom, OP would still be in that foam pit.

21. Like a punch in the gut. The OP's ex-girlfriend sucks.

22. When you shower too long that everyone thinks you've been swallowed by the drain somehow.

23. Those dogs would have done a number on OP if they felt he was a threat.

24. OP could have been shot. He was lucky he was only arrested until he sobered up to tell his story.

25. The homeowners whose houses they knocked on in the middle of the night probably thought they meant them harm.

26. Kids end up in the oddest places to do the most mundane things.

27. He sounds like a cool guy with a free spirit.

These Redditors had luck and good people on their side. Their stories could have taken a dark turn if the people in their lives didn't show concern.

The discussion highlighted how important supportive communities are in our lives. What would have happened to some of these people if concerned neighbors acted like passive spectators?

Chelsi