Searching for a missing loved one is one of the singular most terrifying experiences in life. You pray that every second they are gone that they're not suffering. And never mind the trauma one suffers when they are a person missing due to nefarious circumstances. Often times what starts as a missing persons situation quickly ends peacefully, sometimes kids wonder off and adults take time away without letting anyone know or without thinking. But better to have a return alive story than not.
Redditor u/airherman wanted to hear the details from those who came home by asking...Redditors who have gone/were declared missing, what is your story?
Being 8....
screaming macaulay culkin GIF by Home AloneGiphyI was eight and on vacation. Decided to go for a walk without telling anyone. Played all afternoon an the beach. Came at night.
Oooo boy was everyone mad. I was having tons of fun. I made a sand fortress and watched it fight with the coming tide.
I did not get lost. I have always been good with my bearings.
"sore feet"
As a paramedic we once attended a call for a male with "sore feet".
Attended a lay-by by the side of a road to a perfectly polite chap, who did have some very nasty blisters. He'd been to a family funeral, got a bit upset and had gone for a walk to clear his head, then just kept walking. For four days.
Turns out he was from the same area as where I grew up (about 250 miles away) and we reminisced about the country side and some of the good pubs etc. He admitted that maybe he was a bit depressed and probably needed some help, unfortunately all we could offer was a trip to hospital, but we did what we could.
Later that shift I'm perusing Facebook and see an old school friend has shared a missing person appeal. It's our walking patient!I rang the police and told them where our chap was, and they were very pleased.
For the love of candy....
Reminds me of my cousin, suddenly he disappeared and everyone was frantically looking for him, then he comes back a couple of hours later, turns out he went to the convenience store without telling anyone, bought food and candy, then stayed behind the house to eat so that no one can see him and he doesn't have to share.
Not my Money!
I forget how old I was but I was probably around 10. My friend and I started raking leaves for cash around our suburban neighborhood. We kept going house to house asking anyone who had a tree in their yard if they wanted them raked for $5.
We eventually went to so many houses we got ourselves lost within the criss cross streets of the neighborhood since we really never left our block of houses beforehand. Then the sun set and we found ourselves lost trying to recognize street names or anything familiar in the dark with only street lights lighting the way.
Eventually as were wandering lost we hear cop sirens and lights blare and pull over and ask for our names. We got picked up and taken back to our houses. It felt like a long drive to us 10 year olds but in reality it was like 4 blocks lol
Boy did we get the biggest scolding ever and our parents took our hard earned money.
How Sweet....
Little Rascals Awww GIFGiphyI was on vacation for 3 weeks. In the 2nd week my Boss called me and asked if everything is ok because the police called them and told them that I was declared missing. My neighbor called the police because he didn't hear me for over a week and was worried about me... was kind of a good feeling.
Playing Chicken...
This!!!
I was around the same age when my family went to the Philippines to visit family. My parents were out seeing the sights, and I was at my Aunt's apartment.
Down the street was my cousin's house and I texted her and asked if she wanted to hang out. So I left without asking and we went all over town. Keep in mind she was like 2-3 years older than I was.
So we end up at another cousins house (no blood relation), and we're playing Chicken Little on the playstation. My parents get in touch with my aunt and they've been trying to track me down because they thought I had gotten kidnapped.
Freedom....
i left the abusive household i grew up in, leaving a note clearly stating my intentions to never return. an hour or two later i received a call from the police stating that i'd been declared missing. i explained to them my circumstances and they wished me well. since i was of age, i was free. it'll be three years soon.
EDIT :holy guacamole, there's so many of you! i woke up this morning to a whole lot of love and i'm so thankful for each and every one of you beautiful people. i was going to try and answer everyone individually but i'm starting to realize that it's a bit of a momentous task so i want to thank youse all collectively for the awards, and for sharing your own stories. i'm proud of those of you who took the necessary steps to secure your freedom and happiness. i know that it can get lonely in this big old world of ours, so if anybody needs a friend to chitchat with, my inbox is open. and seriously, thank youse all again. my heart is fuzzy and warm today.
You're It!
The story of how I went "missing" is also one of my first memories. When I was 5, I went on holiday with my family to Scotland. We were in the middle of nowhere surrounding by nothing but land dominated by trees.
There wasn't much to do, so my sister and I played hide and seek. I thought it would be a great idea to hide right next to the front door of the cottage we were staying in, inside of a giant bush.
I watched my sister look for me for about 5 minutes, until she clearly gave up and went inside. However I never give up on anything, and decided to stay until I was found.
After a short period, 15 minutes or so... more people started playing the game. I now watched my parents sprint around in front of me, while I silently giggled in the bush thinking "I'm so good at this game".
More and more people started to play, other holiday-goers in cottages nearby, park rangers and police. I stayed in that bush for hours and hours until it got dark, having the time of my life.
My sister was only 7, so she didn't help look for me and just sat by the doorstep. As it got darker outside, my yellow jacket got brighter and after a whole day of searching for me in the nearby woods, my sister realized I was stood right next to her.
Best game of hide and seek ever.
A Bad Day...
The day the Boston Marathon got bombed, the cell network crashed because of so many people trying to find loved ones. Now, I was a student in Boston at the time, and I was also a volunteer EMT. So I got called into service and only had time to call my father before the network crashed. My dad called my mom and sister, but not my friends or any of my extended family.
Hours later when the networks stabilized, I had voicemails and texts from all up and down the east coast: "where are you are you ok??" "Are you part of the EMT response??" "What's going on??" Aunts, uncles, my boyfriend... And I'm just like "listen, everyone, I'm out RESPONDING TO A TERRORIST ATTACK, can y'all talk to each other??"
Taboo
secret GIF by PoweradeGiphyMy cousin was kidnapped when he was very young maybe 4/5 my aunt was living in Belgium at the time, he was kidnapped and thrown in a car, witnessed by many people, police were called, my poor aunt was frantic, he was left at the side of a road about 8 hours later, but to this day they never found out who took him, were they took him to, and what happened to him while he was gone. It's a taboo subject that I could never bring up to my aunt.
At 15....
I ran away from home due to my alcoholic step mom. My dad would always file a missing person report and cops would eventually find me and bring me home. At 15 I was homeless for 6 months and selling acid for food and a place to stay. Was still better than dealing with my step mom. She drank herself to death and I found peace.
Welcome Home....
Welcome Home Wreath GIF by TheLandGroupTitleGiphyMy aunty was missing for 15 years.
She stopped answering calls, moved house and changed her number. I grew from age 3 to 18. I had 2 younger siblings she didn't know existed.
One afternoon i answer the phone at my parents house. My mum had never changed our phone number. I've already moved out but am visiting my dog. My family are away for the day. It's this aunt.
I recognizes her voice from her reading me bedtime stories, she sounds so similar to my mum.
I'm naturally freaking out about keeping her on the line, getting contact information, where she lives now etc.
Long story short it's been 9 years. She is medicated for her schizophrenia and happy to be back in the family.
Getting Help
I went to rehab. I don't know why I didn't think to tell anyone, but I was a drug addict so my brain was mush. My (now ex) boyfriend was the only person who knew. About a week in, I got called into the main office at the rehab and was told that my mother got a hold of them freaking out and telling them that I had been missing for a month (she was exaggerating), but they legally weren't allowed to tell her that I was there, so I had to call her to explain the situation.
When I got out, I had messages from tons of people asking if I was alive and found out even my old job was contacted lol. I found out that my best friend and my brother messaged my (ex) bf, and he ignored them and never told me that they contacted him. If he had, I would've told him to tell them where I was and the whole thing could've been avoided. I felt really bad about the whole situation because it stressed a lot of people out.
150 Miles Away....
I took my three children and did a flit to get away from their father who had attempted to kill me in front of them. I drove around 150 miles away.
We were given a room in a woman's refuge in a coastal town. While the processing papers went through the children asked to go to the beach. Even though it was November and cold they were happily making sandcastles when I noticed a photographer. He kept directing the camera towards us, but casually tracked away when I looked up.
I was worried that the photos could give away our location, so went to speak to him, but I couldn't catch up so left it. I found out later that I had been reported as missing and a danger to the children by their father. We did not stay in the refuge long as I never felt completely safe there after that.
Bloodletting....
About 6 years ago, I hit a really nasty bottom in my addiction (alcohol). I decided to end it and broke contact with everyone as I drank myself to death. When my family found the room I was staying in, it was covered in blood (I was throwing up blood) and the police suspected that I had killed myself and gone somewhere to die. In the meantime, in some state, I had crawled into the road covered in blood and was taken to the ICU for a week until they put the pieces together and notified my family. Fun times...
(Note: 5 years+ sober and a lot better now).
the cub
bear GIFGiphyWhen I was young, probably about 6 I think, my family went on vacation to Yosemite.
We stayed in a small cabin at a campground. I met another kid who was a bit older than me, and we went exploring. Apparently we went a bit too far, and eventually ran into a bear cub. We just stood and stared at each other for a few minutes and went our separate ways. When I got back to the cabin, I found out that park rangers had been out looking for me because my parents had no idea where I was. For some reason they didn't think my bear story was as cool as I did.
I was a teen and 'runaway' from home and was 'missing' for a few weeks. Left my small town due to small town crap going on and was basically road tripping with a friend. I never lived at my mom's house again. The small town crap included small town criminal crap so when I reappeared I went to juvie for a while and when I got out I got on a plane and went to live permanently with my uncle. My mom and I had kind of a rough time for a while but we're fine now.
The Beach Buffet
My favorite story is from when my cousin was 4 and we we're on the beach with our whole family. At one moment he just disappeared, we searched for him for hours and called the police. Turns out he went to a random hotel that was 2min away from the beach to POOP, met a bunch of kids in the hotel and played with them and everyone just thought he was a guest there... He even had dinner because the buffet had just been served. We almost sent a diving team to see if he drowned.
Get out of the car...
When I was 5 my mom left my cousin (6) and I in the car to run into gas station. This was back in the 80s I should add. My mom's car had those backseats that folded down from inside the car. So I had a great idea to scare my mom so my cousin and I climbed in the back and closed the seats. It was about 10 mins later and no mom so we popped out with smiles and saw a cop car and mom my crying. I was never allowed to stay in the car alone again after that.
On The Couch Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.