Child has been missing since 9pm - frantic !

[MrsLighthouse]

I don’t even know if anyone is awake to read this but my neurodivergent 13 yr old son left the house quietly at 9pm and hasn’t come home . I caught him out about something pretty awful he had done, and he denied it and left rather than deal with it / talk about it , he left.

We live in central London and he’s gone without keys , phone or money . After 2 hours driving around looking for him, l reported to the police and they have him now listed as a vulnerable missing person but l’m going out of my mind .

Has any other parent experienced this ? My head is going to a thousand awful scenarios …it’s 4 am now and so cold .

My news OP? Thinking of you and hoping your DC walks through the door.

I hope he is home now❤️

I hope your DS is home soon. X

Nothing useful to add, so just adding my support and wishes for a good outcome - my then-12 year old did this once, so I know the terror you are feeling.

Sending love, I can only imagine how scared you must feel xxx

❤

Hope today brings your DS home. No advice I’m afraid but just sending hugs and hand hold ❤️

Sending you lots of love, you have done everything right

Any news?

That must be a terrible worry, OP. Wishing him a very safe return.

I did…

You must be so frightened, but the odds are very much in your favour. Hold that thought. It's good that he went for a specific reason - you caught him out, he didn't want confrontation. Much more worrying if he had slipped out for no reason you could think of - that's when you have to start considering possibilities that might not have entered your head.

Just listing places where a young teen might go to stay semi-anonymous - obviously being ND you may dismiss some as being places that would stress him out, but:

McDonalds or similar
Shopping centres
Train station
Park
Swimming baths / Gym
Shop that sells things that interest him: Lego/Apple Store/Insert interest here
Friend

Hope he is home very soon.

Sending positive thoughts and prayers your son is found safe and well🙏

Another one wishing you well OP.

Thinking of you and hoping he is back home soon. The emotional disregulation will hopefully have settled overnight and he'll head home when he's calmer.

I'm a parent of a very emotional teen with ADHD so I know how explosive things can be. It's likely he will want to be home in his safe place soon and the need for that will be stronger than any fears he has. x

Coming late to the thread and sending all good wishes to you, OP. The statistics are on your side but I also have ND teens and god, they're a worry. Holding you in my thoughts.

It says in the first post "he’s gone without keys , phone or money".

I started reading this thread hoping that there was an update that he was back by early morning OP. Hopefully that’s the case and you’ve taken both yourselves off for a few hours of sleep.

As the mother of an ASD DC, is there any wooded areas nearby he might have hidden out in and fallen asleep, not necessarily parks? Any building plots or disused warehouses he may have found an entry into? Calling the bus company and alerting any train/underground companies with description in case he has got on one that is out of service now and is asleep on it might help although I assume the police would have done this by now.

Have you checked hospitals?

Does he have any ID on him at all? I have always ensured my DC has an ASD emergency contact card hidden in an inside coat pocket just in case.

Public toilets that he may have locked himself into?

What route would he regularly take when leaving the house as it’s likely he went in a familiar direction so I’d walk the same way checking any area that might have hide out spots.

If you live in a flat, do you have communal areas like a garden with any bushes, bin store etc?

Stay strong OP

I'm a grown up but I sometimes used to hide in the bin store when I was visiting mum and she had a screeching fit. My boyfriend called and said "what are you doing in a bin store?"

Hoping for happy news soon @MrsLighthouse

Hoping your child is home and safe. I fully appreciate how stressful this is for you and hope he is home safe and well soon. Sending a handhold in the meantime 💐

OP please tell us he's home safe xxx

OP, as a parent of an ADHD child who also gets this sort of emotional disregulation, I can imagine what you're going rhrough as I'm certain this will be me at some point.

DS hasn't done this, but he's done minor versions and he usually turns up at wherever he's actually supposed to be - so have you contacted school? eg DS will storm out in a complete state, but will, in fact, make his way to his football practice or whatever?

Fingers crossed that he turns up soon, @MrsLighthouse - you must be so worried.

Handhold here op. 💐💐💐💐