Mike is missing

[amancio]

hola amigos!

this seems to be a genuine case, by what I have seen,

I am copying

It has been over 4 months since we last heard from Mike- very distressing for both his family and friends. He has not used his bank card, has no phone and does not use the internet so we have no way of contacting him. Please continue to share this post with any friends in Spain along the El Camino trail as we assume he is still in Spain travelling. All we want is a thumbs up that he he is ok. Thank you for caring and sharing!
PS The photos go back a number of years showing him when he was clean shaven as we have no idea of his current status!

https://www.facebook.com/helpfindmike/

perhaps this post should be published in some other section, please Ivar feel free to move it to wherever you may find relevant and appropriate

 

[SYates]

Do you know if a missing person report has been filed with the police? SY

 

[Tincatinker]

SY the Facebook page is not clear on that. It's unclear who put the page up but I guess it's family. It states that 'Mike' has mental health issues. It also seems that he has a history of going off-radar.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Yes, I saw this on FB also.
He may have "disappeared" himself - apparently he has a history of this.
But I can understand his family's concern.

 

[Ekelund]

I hope Mike is okay and that he will get in touch with his family. Soon. We want a happy ending.

 

[Kanga]

@Rebekah Scott have you seen this? Maybe you could pass on the message through the hospitaleros. Mike may be helping out somewhere, or simply wandering along the Camino. It would be good if his family were reassured.

 

[dougfitz]

@Rebekah Scott have you seen this? Maybe you could pass on the message through the hospitaleros. Mike may be helping out somewhere, or simply wandering along the Camino. It would be good if his family were reassured.

I do understand that Mike's family might be concerned, but if he has chosen not to get in touch with his family, that is a personal choice. I don't think it is up to us as a forum or as individuals to let others know where Mike might be when he may not want that information shared. In the circumstances, letting him know that his family are concerned would be a good start if someone were to meet up with him. Its then up to Mike to reassure his family about his whereabouts.

As it stands, the suggestion that he is on the Camino is speculative. The FB page offers this as a suggestion based merely on the fact that he was last heard of in Spain in July. That appears to be a long time ago, and much could have happened since. I hope that whatever he is doing, he is safe and well.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I do understand that Mike's family might be concerned, but if he has chosen not to get in touch with his family, that is a personal choice. I don't think it is up to us as a forum or as individuals to let others know where Mike might be when he may not want that information shared. In the circumstances, letting him know that his family are concerned would be a good start if someone where to meet up with him. Its then up to Mike to reassure his family about his whereabouts.

As it stands, the suggestion that he is on the Camino is speculative. The FB page offers this as a suggestion based merely on the fact that he was last heard of in Spain in July. That appears to be a long time ago, and much could have happened since. I hope that whatever he is doing, he is safe and well.

I have a personal objection to sharing information about anyone's mental status. It is supposed to be confidential information, and I would be furious if my family or friends made public any of my personal or medical issues.

I do understand that the family and friends are concerned, and it would appear that they have just cause. That said, I have a visceral reaction to anyone sharing what should be personal information, particularly information that Mike himself may not want shared.

 

[SYates]

I have a personal objection to sharing information about anyone's mental status. It is supposed to be confidential information, and I would be furious if my family or friends made public any of my personal or medical issues.

I do understand that the family and friends are concerned, and it would appear that they have just cause. That said, I have a visceral reaction to anyone sharing should personal information, particularly information that Mike himself may not want shared.

I absolutely agree @CaminoDebrita and want to add the question why they haven't filled a missing persons report yet if he is really missing since 4 months?
Buen Camino to Mike wherever he is, SY

 

[alexwalker]

IMHO: Close this thread. Medical info shared on a public forum.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

His info is pretty well distributed, at least at the albergues I've been to lately in my part of the trail.

 

[GettingThere]

I have a personal objection to sharing information about anyone's mental status. It is supposed to be confidential information, and I would be furious if my family or friends made public any of my personal or medical issues.

I do understand that the family and friends are concerned, and it would appear that they have just cause. That said, I have a visceral reaction to anyone sharing what should be personal information, particularly information that Mike himself may not want shared.

Totally agree. I feel very uncomfortable about this type of personal health information being made public. I can understand the family's concern and their wish to know he is safe, but I don't think it's necessary or appropriate to include private and personal health information. If seriously worried about his safety, apart from contacting the police there is more helpful and less intrusive information which could be shared (last known location etc).

 

[Anemone del Camino]

A physician may not be allowed to share medical information on a patient, but this is no leak by a doctor. Not speakng about this case in particular, but too many I have been involed with, either with some of my mother's patients barging i to our house, or a friend of mine involed with a person who turned out to be psychotic or her own sister, it can be hard to tell who is suffering from mental illness until it is too late. In a case like this I do beleive a heads up, for the person's own welfare, os not a bad thing, and may actually save them.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I agree with Anemone on this when you have a family member that disappears frequently, it is only communities that gather & locate. I also agree that too much info is not necessary. Yet just basic is good for those searching.
As an example my grandfather rest his soul had Alzheimer's every so often he would walk off, yet it was usually the community that would find him in the hills or confused in town.

Some info is important for the safety of the missing.

 

[Kathor1]

I do understand that Mike's family might be concerned, but if he has chosen not to get in touch with his family, that is a personal choice. [...]

As it stands, the suggestion that he is on the Camino is speculative. The FB page offers this as a suggestion based merely on the fact that he was last heard of in Spain in July. That appears to be a long time ago, and much could have happened since. I hope that whatever he is doing, he is safe and well.

I, obviously, also hope that the person in question is safe and well and I feel with a family who does not know where a family member is.

If you read through some of the many messages posted by the anonymous person calling him/herself "Help find Mike" on Facebook, with Mike's photo as avatar - I guess a family member or family friend is behind this -, you will see that "Mike only set out along El Camino Santiago in mid July" and that "all we want is to know that he is safe wherever he is, hopefully on the El Camino Santiago trail - he started out from Bilbao moving westwards on a pilgrimage and hopefully he is still on course. He has always worked his way wherever he has travelled and I have no doubt continues to do so." Elsewhere it is said that he worked as a teacher for English as a foreign language in Spain for several months, and from other descriptions you can see that he is an experienced world traveller and a long distance hiker. Another person who knows him describes him as "a free spirit".

I suggest that all speculations about mental health issues in this thread are stopped immediately.

 

[wayfarer]

All the information about Mike has been given by family members/friends on the Facebook page link above. I think our function is to pass on the fact that his family are looking for him to anyone we know who is on the Camino at this point or to anyone who may have seen him in the past few months and not discuss or argue the details of his well-being or the reasons he may be missing.

 

[Kerrygold]

I absolutely agree @CaminoDebrita and want to add the question why they haven't filled a missing persons report yet if he is really missing since 4 months?
Buen Camino to Mike wherever he is, SY

Are you guys kidding me? If he is mentally ill, it means that he is not responsible and/or not in control of what he does and he may hurt himself or someone else. That's why right now it's more important to let people know about it, than to protect his privacy. It's like looking for a missing amputee and not mentioning the fact that he is missing a leg, in order to "protect his medical info". Besides, you DON'T KNOW if they filled a missing persons report.

Why I'm saying this? Because I think I saw him, close to Pic d'Orisson. He was walking the opposite direction and he snapped at me with a very bad language when I wished him buen camino. If I didn't catch here, in this forum, that he is mentally ill, I would probably overlook the whole story. It was my first day, I was walking alone and I remember I got scared that a mentally unstable guy is angry with me, and if something happened there would be no one to help me, that's why it got stuck in my head.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

Are you guys kidding me? If he is mentally ill, it means that he is not responsible and/or not in control of what he does and he may hurt himself or someone else. That's why right now it's more important to let people know about it, than to protect his privacy. It's like looking for a missing amputee and not mentioning the fact that he is missing a leg, in order to "protect his medical info". Besides, you DON'T KNOW if they filled a missing persons report.

Why I'm saying this? Because I think I saw him, close to Pic d'Orisson. He was walking the opposite direction and he snapped at me with a very bad language when I wished him buen camino. If I didn't catch here, in this forum, that he is mentally ill, I would probably overlook the whole story. It was my first day, I was walking alone and I remember I got scared that a mentally unstable guy is angry with me, and if something happened there would be no one to help me, that's why it got stuck in my head.

@Kerrygold ---I did not "see" a guy like this, but two people told me a story of a man who was really being angry and "going off" when they wished him Buen Camino. It was somewhere on the middle third of the CF, but that's all I remember.

Perhaps you should write a note to the family on the actual Facebook page, as I think that is what they are looking for?

 

[ivar]

I will close this thread now. If anyone have any news on this person, please contact his family on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/helpfindmike/

I hope they find him soon!
Ivar