A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.

Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made.

People disappear for many reasons. Some individuals choose to disappear alone; most of these soon return. Reasons for non-identification may include:

• To escape child abuse, such as child physical abuse, emotional abuse, by a parent(s) / guardian(s) / sibling(s) (especially).
• Leaving home to live somewhere else under a new identity.
• Becoming the victim of kidnapping.
• Abduction (of a minor) by a non-custodial parent or other relative.
• Seizure by government officials without due process of law.
• Suicide in a remote location or under an assumed name (to spare their families the suicide at home, or to allow their deaths to be eventually declared in absentia).
• Victim of murder (body disguised, destroyed, or hidden).
• Mental illness or other ailments such as Alzheimer's Disease can cause someone to become lost, or they may not know how to identify themselves due to long term memory loss that causes them to forget where they live, the identity of family members or relatives or even their own names.
• Death by natural causes (disease) or accident far from home without identification.
• Disappearance in order to take advantage of better employment or living conditions elsewhere.
• Sold into slavery, serfdom, sexual servitude, or other unfree labour.
• To avoid discovery of a crime or apprehension by law-enforcement authorities. (See also failure to appear).
• Joining a cult or other religious organization.
• To escape domestic abuse.
• To avoid war or persecution during a genocide.
• To escape famine or natural disaster.

disappearance

• Locator Services (31)
• Personals (36)

• Child Abduction@ (60)
• Hurricane Katrina@ (5)
• Runaways@ (15)

• Home: Family: Adoption: Search and Reunion (103)
• Society: Crime: Kidnapping (4)
• Society: Paranormal: Psychic: Detectives (9)

• The Seeker
  the-seeker.com
  Free message board and resources for reuniting friends and family.
• Lostfriends
  lostfriends.org
  Non-commercial, international people finder. Includes search facility.
• Missing Persons in India
  indiansmissing.com
  Listings and information.

• Usenet alt.missing-adults - news: - Google Groups
• Usenet alt.missing-kids - news: - Google Groups