Help! My dad's gone missing

[Cheeseandwinegirl]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help.

My mum just called and said my dad has gone missing. He left home yesterday afternoon while she was out, he didn't take his phone or wallet but she has found the safe has been emptied which had around 1k in there.

She thinks he only took the clothes he is wearing, he took the car.

He hasn't turned up today and I'm trying to help her with what to do.

I've told her to go through his Internet history and his phone, also check if anything else is missing at home and keep an eye on the bank accounts - she sorts all banking.

If that comes up with nothing I've advised her to call his best friend (lives about 50 miles away so can't pop in).

My dad is 62 in good health with as far as I'm aware bo financial worries, mum said he had been able moody of late but nothing out of the ordinary as it's harvest time, it's also just a moody sod at the best of times!

Is there anything else I've missed or anything else we can do? I've said to inform the police if he isn't back in 24 hours.

Oh god op has he not reappeared? I feel quite cross with him. You must be so worried

Would he know how to send a text from a payphone? I didn't realise that was possible. I'd be a bit wary of those messages, unless you're sure they are from him.

Can you send a text from a payphone?

The OP has already said her father is really bad with technology- he did well to work out how to send a text from a payphone.

I thought that too. How does one send a text from a pay phone? I'm quite a tech geek and I have no clue.

Also thought the same how can they be sure its the father sending the messages?

In my experience, he did well to actually find a working payphone!

Or any pay phone at all these days!

I have no idea, Holiday. I've never tried to do it - just wouldn't attempt it in fact.

Any update OP?

I've just googled this as I had no idea if it was possible either. Apparently it is possible but only from special payphones and using a phonecard. Its apparently easy and there is a screen giving step by step instructions. There are not hundreds of these phones though, most seem to be in places like city stations or airports. There is a list available online of the whereabouts of all these phones. Not sure if this info will be of any help in tracking down your Dad OP. My heart goes out to you and your Mum, you must be beside yourselves with worry.

That is one of the reasons I'd be heading up there after advising/consulting my new employer of a possible delay in starting. Cheese is getting everything second hand from her mother as far as I can see. Myself, I would want to know what was happening first hand and take action as appropriate then.

cozie - Cheese travelled back home yesterday.

My apologies - I forgot that.

Cheese

Have you seen these payphone texts?

I had found this site when googling earlier: funnyoldlife.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/use-and-locate-a-public-text-payphone-in-the-uk/ - but none of the links to the BT list works. I did a search on the BT website for text payphones, but didn't get any results.

All this does worry me that maybe the texts to Cheese's mum could be spoofs. I hope the police aren't assuming that those texts were genuine and so not giving the case sufficient priority.

I think it can be done, but do we know that's how he's doing it? He could have bought a PAYG mobile in a supermarket (assuming charitably he didn't already have one). Most home phones can receive SMSes these days.

Hopefully the police might have located him today via the car's tracker. I agree, the texts are inconclusive, although I feel that sending the message twice makes it more likely to be him, if you see what I mean.

Could he have been with someone else who helped him send the text messages?

Well he's now been missing for - what - over 72 hours (?) in an act which was wholly out of character? I don't know the local police procedures in such matters but I would have thought that they would be treating this with a little more urgency than they appear to be doing.

How do you know how the police are treating it cozie?
The OP has been back since yesterday

Cheese said that they're treating it as 'medium risk' I think?

That was when they first attended I think. It has probably changed now unless he has come home

And I meant to say *has not been back doh

Well. It will be what it will be, I guess. I'm surprised but then I've been used to the sort of local forces who would come round very fast indeed for most things. Just lucky on that.

Cheese's parents are farmers, so presumably it's the rural police force who were initially involved. From my limited knowledge, rural coppers tend to be in tune with rhythms and stresses of farming life, and also tend to know the local community well. But they don't usually have much in the way of resources, and they'd probably need to persuade the higher-ups to expend some of those resources on a man who has apparently just gone walkabout for a while.

There you go - different experiences. When I lived in a rural community they would usually direct resources much more closely to local concerns through knowing those people well and having a different crime profile in their area. It cuts many ways.

We'll doubtless find out.

But the police must be taking it seriously if the car was clocked (first meeting with police) four hours away - that indicates other forces are looking out for him too?

Who can tell? My own brain, unusually, clearly refused to record the OP's later posts for some reason so I'll restrict myself to wishing her and her parents well whatever is happening.