How long?
 

I just finished a book series about a woman who was kidnapped by a stalker and it took two weeks before anyone noticed she was gone. That really got me to thinking about how small my social circle is and how much I keep to myself, much like she did, which made me wonder how long it would be before I was missed.

I came to the conclusion if it was a work day, right away when I didn't show up, but if it was a Friday night, it could be the entire weekend until I was missed on Monday morning. Unless it was a weekend where my son is visiting, then it would be sooner. If it was when I was off work on a staycation, it could be even longer. But I doubt it would be two weeks. At least I hope not.

How bout you? If you were kidnapped, how long do you think it would be before someone noticed you were missing?

dinnertime! Unless I'm with a member of the family, I'm always home! If I go out for something, they know where I am.

Now if it was the whole family missing, I would give it a week. People at Church would start to wonder and send us a text. My husband's work would be calling about 30 min after he was late for work.

Well since I live with hubby and kids, I don't think it would be long. It only takes me 20-30 mins to get home from work. If I wasn't home within a couple of hours and they couldn't contact me, they'd probably start the search.

Interesting! I too would depend on what day it was. Now with kids back in school- if it's a school day when I'm not working- it could be up to 6-7 hours. Right away for a work day, as I have patients scheduled for me. If we all were kidnapped, it could be a couple days as our social circle has gotten much smaller since covid & maybe only my mom or my mother in law actually check in every few days.

I talked about a similar situation with the HR Director when I was still working. I.E. What if I had a medical emergency at home and no way to get someone to help me. If it was Mon-Fri and I didn't show up to work, yeah, someone would wonder. But on the weekend? After that there was 1 or 2 occasions where I overslept and she called me to make sure I was OK!

What precipitated the conversation was an instance where I fell down and couldn't get back up. I had 2 dogs at the time and they were no good... in fact, they caused the fall. I laid on the floor for about 10 minutes until I stopped hurting enough to crawl to something to pull myself up.

So yeah, I've thought about it a lot especially now that I'm older and live alone. I would hope that my neighbors might notice something but they are so busy who knows.

If it were just me, someone in my immediate family would notice by the end of the school day. If it were my entire family, I have no idea. Coworkers would notice within a day (or on Monday) that we hadn't shown up, and my parents might get concerned if we had been out of touch more than a week. But there's a difference between noticing we're not at work or answering the phone and knowing that something is wrong and the police should be notified. I have no idea how long it would be before the police were called, but it could be quite a while if all 5 of us disappeared together.

Hmm interesting question. I am helping my Mom at the moment, so half a day at most, unless I was out doing errands, then maybe a day. But if she was at my sisters, it could be that entire visit, so a week or two. (That's scary!)

Ugh! I don't really want to think about that kind of stuff. Anything bad happening to me or my family gives me anxiety... :crying:

My husband works from home these days so he would notice pretty soon if I were missing and baby chunks (so not a baby anymore at 2.5) was just playing around the house on her own. He would suspect I'm hiding in one of the bathroom playing on my phone or something but after checking there he would know something is wrong.

If I went out for more than 4 hrs or so, hubs would start to wonder and might call me but if I didn't respond he would figure I was at the casino and not taking calls (it happens a few times a month). But if I wasn't home by early evening he would definitely be getting antsy about it b/c I always check in about dinner, and then he would worry that something had happened, at which point the phone calls would escalate.

Yikes, good question. On a school day my kids would notice when they got home from school. But how long until they escalated it? Probably if they hadn't been able to reach me by bedtime they would call my mom. And she would be concerned.

By 500pm the hounds would be sent out looking. I have to pick my kiddo up at school by 430 ish and usually the other kid too. During the day not so much because I sleep a lot esp if I get a migraine so no answer to the phone, they would think I was asleep. Thankfully we know all our neighbors pretty well so someone would pop in and check if hubby called and got no answer. I usually tell him if I am taking a nap. The high schooler wouldn't worry too much....We have zero family around us so it would be a bit before they wandered....My MIL would be the first I guess because she calls me a lot..almost daily.

About ten minutes... when my bottomless pit of a ten-year-old came looking for another snack! LOL

I actually have thought about this though after I took a bad fall at home a few years back. I was on a rickety ladder and stretched a titch too far... well the ladder went one way and I went the other. I fell hard, narrowly missing the sharp corners of the shelves beside me and the sharp point of the scissors in my back pocket. (Yes, I know... all the things you tell your kids not to do...) I landed on my wrist, breaking it, and knocked the wind out of me. It took several moments for me to get over the shock of the fall and take stock of my potential injuries. Hubby was outside mowing the lawn and my phone was nowhere near me, so I knew I was f**cked if I was really hurt. I did manage to get up and get moving though. Thankfully only my wrist was really hurt, otherwise I was pretty badly bruised up but ok. The scariest part of it was thinking that if I had been badly hurt I would have been stuck there until hubby came in from mowing the lawn (nobody else was home at the time) and that usually takes a couple of hours.

As a fire dispatcher we often send trucks to assist ambulance with lift assist calls... some little 90 year old that's been lying on the floor for four days. Those calls get me every time. So sad to think about!

My hubby would be worried after about an hour if I were to go run an errand alone and didn't come home. If we both went missing then it could be days before anyone would take notice. I think my dil would be the first to worry if she texted me and I didn't reply the same day.

Couple hours…. Especially if I missed kid pick up.

I'm a mom to two children - one needy in the sense that he relies on me for food and the other needy in the sense she's a snuggler and chatter. These kids would miss me in a heartbeat and would notice if I were gone longer than a half-hour if I didn't tell them where I went. :D

Dinner time.... no lie... the 17 year old boy starts asking what's for dinner before he leaves for school at 6:25 am.... so heaven forbid I am not here when he gets home, the text messages and phone calls would start by 3. Then if the hubby gets home and I'm not here, he starts calling and texting within minutes... so much so that IF I have to run an errand right when he is getting home, I text him first that I am running out.

Hmm… probably wouldn’t be until hubby got home from work. I’m rarely out past 3pm, ��. Kiddo probably would notice sooner but not say anything as he would be busy looking fir my chocolate supply.

It depends on when I go missing. After dinner, probably not until the next morning when my daughter gets a ride to school. After dropping her off, not until the end of the school day. On the weekend. . .who knows.

What was the book?

I think hubby would notice late at night when I don't show up, thinking I was with my friend Sylvia.

This is the series.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...oreType=ebooks

Sorry Sweetie, I didn't mean to freak you out. It has just been in my own mind for days now.

Between my family, my dog, and my work, probably 5 minutes. lol

I think my husband and kids would notice within hours. If I was single, work peeps would notice quickly since I have 5-15 meetings per day. If I was single and didn't work with a lot of people, it might take longer.