When a woman disappears, there can be many reasons — and often no immediate explanation.
Sometimes a person leaves voluntarily, seeking time away from family, relationship or financial pressures. She may be experiencing a personal crisis, feeling overwhelmed, or simply wanting to escape a difficult situation.
In other cases, a disappearance may be connected to domestic or family violence. A woman may leave suddenly because she fears for her safety and does not want others to know where she is. She may also deliberately limit contact with friends and family to avoid being found by someone who poses a threat.
Mental health difficulties, illness, injury, substance use or an unexpected accident can also play a role. A person may become disoriented, unable to contact those close to her, or find herself somewhere she did not intend to be.
There are also circumstances where a person may have been the victim of a crime or may be vulnerable to exploitation.
For families, the uncertainty can be devastating. The absence of information can leave loved ones wondering whether their relative is safe, whether she needs help and what might have happened.
Importantly, a missing person should never be presumed to have left voluntarily simply because there is no obvious evidence of foul play. Every disappearance is different, and police consider the individual circumstances when assessing what may have occurred.
Running from their Lives is available for preorder from Amazon here.