[Thomas the Rhymer]

I'm trying to find my brother. Personally, he's dead to me but out of pity for our mother I'm trying to help her find him. It doesn't help that he's in a far away country (namely, Canada).

We hired a Canadian detective to look for him but he doesn't turn up on credit records and he's not in jail, and there's not much more a detective can check.

The last we knew, he was in and out of homeless shelters. He stopped emailing the family about 3 years again and since then has practically vanished off the face of the earth. The homeless shelters in Canada refuse to let us know if he's in the system, due to privacy laws.

Google image searching his photos and googling his names/nicknames hasn't turned up anything. Also couldn't find him on social media, although maybe he's using a fake name on those platforms.

I suspect he has health issues but I don't know if there is a way to access hospital/health records in Canada to see if he has been in the system at all. Judging by the grief the homeless shelters gave me, I suspect it would be an uphill battle.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I can try? Does anyone have experiences of tracking down lost friends/relatives? What worked and what didn't?

[puckerman]

Have you tried to talk to his friends? Have you put out a blast on social media? I would spread his pictures far and wide. Even people in homeless shelters go on social media.

If your brother wanted to be found, he would be found. That being said, it's honorable that you are doing this for your mother.

[Renton1875]

Hey Thomas

Sorry to hear of your predicament.

I have known people to be found through the Salvation Army, they spend a lot of time on the streets getting to know the homeless through soup kitchens, distributing sleeping bags/warm clothing etc, as well as providing shelter. They also keep records and are approachable for concerned families looking for missing persons.

They have 400 contact points throughout Canada.

http://www.salvationarmy.ca/contact/

Quote:


The Salvation Army Canada is a non-governmental direct provider of social services in the areas of homelessness, poverty and addiction and a continuing support for programs in developing countries. In addition to mobile programs such as disaster relief, and homeless soup lines, the Salvation Army Canada currently operates permanent facilities including corps community centers (churches), Social Services Centers, summer camps, Adult Rehabilitation Centers, and thrift stores.

Good luck in your search.

[Ethan Hunt]

I have done this. Didn't need to hire a detective but location was already known and that narrows down a lot.
I knew some names (surnames) to search so used both LinkedIn and Facebook.

Both check out to be correct link to the missing contact and through them got through to who I needed to contact.

It took maybe a 2 days.

I'm leaving some details out due to personal nature but the same principles can apply to you.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Soul Travel - seasoned out of body traveler could help you. Or you learn it yourself, but is not easy for many people.

And yes I mean it seriously. Otherwise it is tough to find someone especially if the person is potentially homeless. Another option is the cops - filing a missing person report, you could consider making up a white lie about mental illness etc.

[EvanWilson]

That is going to be tough. Since he is homeless and is not spending any money, he will not show up on a lot of stuff and be almost invisible.

If you knew what area he was in it would help, but the problem is that you would need someone on the ground to go check out and maybe even stake out the area with the hope that he comes around.

Is there any reason why he has not contacted anyone in years? (i.e. Is he insane or angry with the rest of the family or some other similar reason?)

[Sonoma]

Sounds like he doesn't want to be found

[debeguiled]

Voting records.

[miggyme1]

(08-16-2017 12:52 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

I'm trying to find my brother. Personally, he's dead to me but out of pity for our mother I'm trying to help her find him. It doesn't help that he's in a far away country (namely, Canada).

We hired a Canadian detective to look for him but he doesn't turn up on credit records and he's not in jail, and there's not much more a detective can check.

The last we knew, he was in and out of homeless shelters. He stopped emailing the family about 3 years again and since then has practically vanished off the face of the earth. The homeless shelters in Canada refuse to let us know if he's in the system, due to privacy laws.

Google image searching his photos and googling his names/nicknames hasn't turned up anything. Also couldn't find him on social media, although maybe he's using a fake name on those platforms.

I suspect he has health issues but I don't know if there is a way to access hospital/health records in Canada to see if he has been in the system at all. Judging by the grief the homeless shelters gave me, I suspect it would be an uphill battle.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I can try? Does anyone have experiences of tracking down lost friends/relatives? What worked and what didn't?

3 years since you heard from him?????......yea........he prolly dead

[RoastBeefCurtains4Me]

^^^Dumbass. Also, your English is very poor. You are obviously uneducated and ignorant. Loser.

If a loved one turns up missing, the family has no choice but to retain hope. Obviously it might not go the way they want, but you always have to hope for an outcome like in the Elizabeth Smart case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_...kidnapping

In addition, if someone is dysfunctional and living on the edge, it's entirely likely they are scraping by somehow, but still alive. It's just harder to find them by the usual measures. Good luck OP.

(08-16-2017 06:09 PM)miggyme1 Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 12:52 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

I'm trying to find my brother. Personally, he's dead to me but out of pity for our mother I'm trying to help her find him. It doesn't help that he's in a far away country (namely, Canada).

We hired a Canadian detective to look for him but he doesn't turn up on credit records and he's not in jail, and there's not much more a detective can check.

The last we knew, he was in and out of homeless shelters. He stopped emailing the family about 3 years again and since then has practically vanished off the face of the earth. The homeless shelters in Canada refuse to let us know if he's in the system, due to privacy laws.

Google image searching his photos and googling his names/nicknames hasn't turned up anything. Also couldn't find him on social media, although maybe he's using a fake name on those platforms.

I suspect he has health issues but I don't know if there is a way to access hospital/health records in Canada to see if he has been in the system at all. Judging by the grief the homeless shelters gave me, I suspect it would be an uphill battle.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I can try? Does anyone have experiences of tracking down lost friends/relatives? What worked and what didn't?

3 years since you heard from him?????......yea........he prolly dead

[miggyme1]

(08-16-2017 06:32 PM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  

^^^Dumbass.

If a loved one turns up missing, the family has no choice but to retain hope. Obviously it might not go the way they want, but you always have to hope for an outcome like in the Elizabeth Smart case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_...kidnapping

In addition, if someone is dysfunctional and living on the edge, it's entirely likely they are scraping by somehow, but still alive. It's just harder to find them by the usual measures. Good luck OP.

(08-16-2017 06:09 PM)miggyme1 Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 12:52 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

I'm trying to find my brother. Personally, he's dead to me but out of pity for our mother I'm trying to help her find him. It doesn't help that he's in a far away country (namely, Canada).

We hired a Canadian detective to look for him but he doesn't turn up on credit records and he's not in jail, and there's not much more a detective can check.

The last we knew, he was in and out of homeless shelters. He stopped emailing the family about 3 years again and since then has practically vanished off the face of the earth. The homeless shelters in Canada refuse to let us know if he's in the system, due to privacy laws.

Google image searching his photos and googling his names/nicknames hasn't turned up anything. Also couldn't find him on social media, although maybe he's using a fake name on those platforms.

I suspect he has health issues but I don't know if there is a way to access hospital/health records in Canada to see if he has been in the system at all. Judging by the grief the homeless shelters gave me, I suspect it would be an uphill battle.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I can try? Does anyone have experiences of tracking down lost friends/relatives? What worked and what didn't?

3 years since you heard from him?????......yea........he prolly dead

sorry i triggered you.(not really) lol but OP yea he's prolly dead.

[spokepoker]

Do you think he would've changed his name?

[The Beast1]

(08-16-2017 06:36 PM)miggyme1 Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 06:32 PM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  

^^^Dumbass.

If a loved one turns up missing, the family has no choice but to retain hope. Obviously it might not go the way they want, but you always have to hope for an outcome like in the Elizabeth Smart case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_...kidnapping

In addition, if someone is dysfunctional and living on the edge, it's entirely likely they are scraping by somehow, but still alive. It's just harder to find them by the usual measures. Good luck OP.

(08-16-2017 06:09 PM)miggyme1 Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 12:52 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

I'm trying to find my brother. Personally, he's dead to me but out of pity for our mother I'm trying to help her find him. It doesn't help that he's in a far away country (namely, Canada).

We hired a Canadian detective to look for him but he doesn't turn up on credit records and he's not in jail, and there's not much more a detective can check.

The last we knew, he was in and out of homeless shelters. He stopped emailing the family about 3 years again and since then has practically vanished off the face of the earth. The homeless shelters in Canada refuse to let us know if he's in the system, due to privacy laws.

Google image searching his photos and googling his names/nicknames hasn't turned up anything. Also couldn't find him on social media, although maybe he's using a fake name on those platforms.

I suspect he has health issues but I don't know if there is a way to access hospital/health records in Canada to see if he has been in the system at all. Judging by the grief the homeless shelters gave me, I suspect it would be an uphill battle.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I can try? Does anyone have experiences of tracking down lost friends/relatives? What worked and what didn't?

3 years since you heard from him?????......yea........he prolly dead

sorry i triggered you.(not really) lol but OP yea he's prolly dead.

Word to the wise, when a member here tries to have an honest and serious conversation about a problem that's plaguing him try not to be a ragging faggot about it.

You know, try and be helpful in your writings.

Also capitalize your sentences newfag.

[Sonoma]

OP- he's definitely not dead, or you would know.

He's just not at any place in his life where he wants to be found, and he's choosing to not be in contact. Unless he gets into legal trouble or decides he wants to contact you, you're kind of SOL. If you know his last city of residence, you might be able to try staking out the homeless shelters, or asking around the homeless community if they've seen him.

I'm not totally sure what your intent is once you find him though. Unless you have some SERIOUS cash to let him blow through, it's unlikely that contact will do much if he's that mentally ill

[Repo]

Since he is family I assume you know a good deal of his personal info. Not legal, but you may be able to find out clues with some social engineering and reaching out to service providers he may used. . . bank account, email provider, etc. I assume some detectives may be open to using less than legal methods.

[tarquin]

You could subpoena the e-mail provider about the last log-ins associated with that account. This would include both dates and ISPs. I think that would be a pretty good start, but it might take a few weeks to get an answer. Additionally, many e-mail providers will refuse to give out information unless it is either a Court issued subpoena or a request from law enforcement.

Good luck, I hope you find your brother for the sake of your mother.

[Laner]

I have helped to find people who went 'missing' in Vancouver DTES, as thats been my neighborhood for 16 years.

I have put posters up, and talk to the people on the streets that I know. If you think he might be in Vancouver, which is where most people in Canada end up eventually, PM me. I would be happy to help.

Its sad to me to see this happen to families. Myself, I have native Indian family and friends, and my people certainly make up the vast majority of these 'disappeared' people.

[puckerman]

I wonder if a sob story would help you out. For example, tell these people that you need to find your brother because you need a bone marrow transplant. Tell them that your kid is dying and wants to see his uncle one last time. Play on people's humanity. It's amazing what happens sometimes when bureaucrats start acting like human beings instead of robots.

Have you contacted first cousins or even more distant cousins? One of my first cousins has completely cut off his sister and didn't even go to his mother's funeral. He is connected with me on Facebook though. It's entirely possible that your brother has maintained at least one contact like this so he can keep an eye on your family.

[Captainstabbin]

Did you try various versions of his name in http://www.canada411.ca/search/advanced.html or similar websites?

I have a good friend from college who went MIA 2 years ago after moving to NYC - no social media, no Google hits, nothing. Found him in 5 minutes on https://www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com/ but that's just for the US. Turns out he started a family and just didn't have time to keep his online profiles current...also turns out his wife is an ex stripper but that's another story.

[frozen-ace]

If he is a foreigner in Canada, and homeless, he probably never left and is still there. Canada is a huge, vast, and endless place, but really there are only 5 or 6 places he could be (and Nunavut is not one of them). If I had to guess I'd say Vancouver. Second guess would be Toronto.

When he was in and out of homeless shelters 3 years ago, what city was it? It could very well be that he is still in the city.

If you really care you might have to take a trip to Canada (starting in the last city you knew he was in) and visit these shelters and bring pictures and try to find any leads that way. That's not an easy undertaking if you are halfway across the world.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Many many people disappear without a trace: https://www.factretriever.com/missing-people-facts

Some show up after some time, but many don't.

Also there are a lot of people who simply vanished and their bodies are never found.

That said - I guess you already filed a missing person report with the authorities. Especially homeless people are extremely hard to find, because they don't register anywhere online or otherwise.

I hope you find your family member - otherwise there is nothing else to be done but to give it into the hands of the Divine and send that person some loving thoughts. Some things we cannot change, but need only to accept.

[Goldin Boy]

No offense but this isn't a little kid who ran away from home or someone who was abducted. He's not really "missing".

If he wanted to be found by you and your mom, he would call or show up at your door. He'll be "found" when wants to be found by you.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

I thought I'd update this thread, in case anyone on here is ever in the same situation and wants to see what worked/didn't work:

This is what I did, before my mother flew to Canada:

- Post a missing persons poster on Facebook groups located in the city where he disappeared. This didn't help, no leads.

- Contact the people who keep track of homeless deaths in the city. The city had a homeless death memorial. My brother's name was not on it, so at least that was something.

My mother flew to Canada and then did the following:

- Open a missing person's case at a police station. The police tracked down the wrong person with the same name on Facebook and then closed the case. They were unhelpful.

- She the went to visit a previous address of my brother, a place where my brother rented a room. The house was standing empty. She then went door-to-door along the whole street to find out if anyone had my brother's or the landlord's number. Someone a couple of houses down the street did in fact have the landlord's number; she contacted the landlord and the landlord had my brother's number. So my mother then called my brother and they met up the next day.

One option she didn't have to take, was to go visit all the hospitals. Hospitals are used to having family trying to find family members, apparently it's common for people to be in a coma in hospital and none of the family has been informed.

The other thing she didn't do was make flyers and posters, although she was prepared to do that eventually.

Thanks to everyone who posted advice, it helped us a lot with developing a productive strategy to follow in finding him.

[5-7 Hedonist]

Very interesting. Going door to door to ask neighbors is an old school approach. The authorities are not going to do that for a missing persons case they suspect is 'doesn't want to be found.'

[puckerman]

Let us know what happens with this. Have a great Christmas.