LondonElite

I'm looking for some help in a somewhat trying situation.

My wife and I live in the UK. Her (elderly) parents live in Canada. We own vacation property in Florida which they drove to last Sunday. It's pretty much 24 hours of straight driving and they usually take two stops along the way. They were meant to get there by Tuesday night. It is now Friday night and we have not heard from them, they have not arrived, and their mobile phone numbers just give out the 'this number is not available' message.

My mother-in-law has rapidly advancing memory/dementia issues, and our concern is that, confused from her surroundings, she walked off in the middle of the night from whatever hotel they were staying in, and my father-in-law is trying to find her. It sounds completely insane, I know, but we couldn't stop them from going (this time, in future we will put measures in place).

My question is this: is there a centralised number or agency I can call to find out whether they have been in contact with any law enforcement agency? My father-in-law is incredibly stubborn and is unlikely to get in touch with us if there is any kind of problem. We spoke with Florida HP yesterday and they more or less said that we'd have to call sheriffs from county to county but of course this isn't going to work, because we have no idea where they might be. They are not 'missing persons' so I can't report them as such, and to whom?

Any help would be much appreciated.

CodeAdam10

I don't have the answers you are seeking but I'm truly sorry your family is in this situation and I pray they both turn up tonight in the best of health. My best wishes to your family.

Jaimito Cartero

Wow, scary situation. Too bad your FIL is problematic. Hopefully it's just something like a car problem, and not something dire. Keep us up to date!

HeavenlyJane

What a nightmare for you. I hope they are located quickly.

If they are Canadian citizens, contact the Canadian embassy in DC. You might also contact the police in the last town you know where they've been to see if they can track their location through their cell phones, credit card use, etc.

tom911

There's enough right there to justify a missing person report, particularly in light of the dementia issue. Your initial challenge will be deciding "who" to file the missing person report with. I'd start with the destination city and see if they'll take it. Someone with dementia is considered "at risk" and gets a special flag in the missing person system (here in CA- assuming it would be the same in FL).

That topic actually came up quite a bit when I worked in the Bay Area, and we generally told callers they would have to call various hospitals and jails in the area of where the person they were looking for would be, and in some case that could involve a route of 100 miles or more. There really isn't a central location that tracks everyone arrested, hospitalized, or those that have had some police interaction.

We did have a system in California to enter a missing person with their vehicle, so if the vehicle plate came to the attention of law enforcement it would raise a flag. We could also enter lost vehicles (sometimes folks just couldn't recall where they left their car). Getting the car in the system works to your advantage as some police departments have license plate scanners on their patrol cars. Otherwise, if the car is called in as abandoned or in an unusual location and the plate is checked, the officer will know to make further inquires.

If you do have the license plate of their car, they should be able to tell you if it has been towed (edited to add: that will only apply to a single state - Florida will not know if a car has been towed in New York).

squeakr

Is there a route or routes they typically take? You might start with the sheriffs departments in those counties.
If their phones are iPhones and by any chance you happen to know their login information or could make some educated guesses and you have an iPhone you could try to track them that way?
Again in a dire situation like this I might start with their actual hometown police in Canada and see if they're willing as a favor to try to help you get some information about their car or the license plates or whatever. Especially if they live in a small town but a law-enforcement might be more willing to help. We are found Canadian officials to be very helpful when my father-in-law lived up there.

I hope for the best outcome for what must be a very difficult situation.

Lomapaseo

The local police at their intended Florida address, if called, can file what they call a "Silver Alert" that flashes on road signs and TV screens. I know this works in Florida because they generally recover the missing seniors in a day or two along the way.

I see this about once a month where I reside in Florida .

If you have a car license and/or description along the route you have a very good chance or resolving this quickly

pharmawalk

Their cell phones should be traceable.

beachmouse

Agree that Florida state or local police are a good starting point because they've got the best infrastructure to handle fragile elderly situations and have the contacts in a lot of other states along the likely route.

tom911

Even if you don't have access to a license plate, the police in Florida, or any state for that matter, can message Ottawa, once they have a name and address, and obtain the license plate. In these days of more stricter laws on data release/security, even the police in their home town might be reluctant to give that information to you directly.

MAXII

OP, you are in the UK. Perhaps you could call your local police station and ask them if they can advise you in anyway. Are your in-laws Canadian? If so, You might also want to contact the nearest Canadian Embassy to you and ask them for advise. Perhaps you could contact the local police or RCMP in the town your in laws live.

Reach out to your friends on facebook, twitter too for advice.

MAXII

On the Canadian Gov website, there is info that may help you

https://travel.gc.ca/assistance/emergency-info/missing-persons

pt flyer

People use the word "elderly" to describe a wide range of ages. I am assuming you are talking 80's here?

I think contacting the state police in each state might be a starting point vs. each sherif department.

Also, I would seriously consider coming to the US, perhaps arriving at your property in Florida, to be in a better position to act when they are found.

GUWonder

If someone wants to get creative to try to locate someone, "follow the money", right? Bank (including credit) card transaction history of a target has been known to be of help in locating a target.

Finkface

I am in Canada if there is anything I can do to help. I suspect your in-laws were in Toronto or nearby because of the driving time to FL that you mentioned and I am in Vancouver, but if there is anything I can do from here, let me know.