I haven't heard from my best friend in over a month, and I'm really worried. He hasn't responded to any texts or calls, and even our mutual friends haven't heard from him. It's concerning because he's supposed to be in his final semester of college, but he hasn't shown up at all. Given his history with mental health issues, I'm terrified he might be in danger. I don't know his home address when he's not at college, and it's quite far for me to check in person. Is there a legal way to find out if he's safe or active online? I thought about monitoring his social media, but his account is private. I want to respect his privacy; I just need to know he's okay.
4 Answers
I really feel for you; that's a tough situation. Have you considered asking the police to do a wellness check? They can go to his last known address and check in on him without you needing to know where he lives.
Learning some basic OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) techniques could help you. You might be able to find info about his online presence or location that way.
Have you tried Googling him? If you know the city, you might be able to dig up his address or at least find some recent info that could indicate how he's doing.
You could try sending a silent SMS, which might get his attention without being intrusive. There are gateways that can help with this, but you'll need to look them up for options.
Do you have any suggestions on which gateways are best?
I wish I could, but I don't know his address.