The discomfort of hitchhiking and walking alone for days are not things people usually choose to do voluntarily. Given this man’s supposed backstory of stability I agree with Freddie the Pig that this may have been some kind of medical incident. Although in the patchy first reports it was reported he said he wanted to go see a woman he used to know, this might also be a part of the incident, as impaired brain function frequently involves a peeling away to earlier times. Either that, or hopefully this will be the extent of his mid-life crisis. :eek:
I only disappeared once for any length of time. My now deceased MIL was…a Southern Belle-type alcoholic. Her nightly binges were referred to as her “toddies.” old roll-eyes But the then family consensus was to finally leave her to her own consequences, which I couldn’t do when she called me one morning (from states away) still half drunk and bleeding from a fall, afraid to call family nearby. My husband had told me explicitly not to try to help her so I hung up the phone, picked up my pocketbook, and drove eight hours to her house. When I got there and had accessed the situation it was long after suppertime when I gave him a call. He said, “I’m not mad. Just tell me what’s on TV tonight.” Still cracks me up. Still makes me wonder at people’s various needs. Still makes me wonder why I’ve tried to meet them.
When I was 17, I was in an intolerable situation at home. So I walked out, and wound up in NYC with $17 in my pocket. I stayed at the Y, and got a job the next day. Then I phoned home.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to anyone, but considering the circumstances, I have no regrets.
I have done that. People knew that I was “with friends” but they didn’t know which. No, didn’t take a cellphone with me. Yes it was exciting and to an extent defining… but it was also reckless and irresponsible.
When I was single, I went wherever I wanted and did whatever I wanted on the spur of the moment, whenever the mood struck me. If I suddenly got the urge to go see a movie showing at 10:30 PM, I’d just get up and go.
But now that I’m married with a son? That would be unthinkable.
And even when I was single, I wouldn’t have abandoned a friend or relative at a football game. Even if I was bored, I’d have the courtesy to tell the friend/relative, “I’ve had enough of this. I’m leaving.”
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. It’s too completely random and his lack of survival awareness is kind of a give away. Sleeping in bushes? In Colorado? In October? That’s at or near freezing temperatures every night. Nope. Something else is going on.
I run my own business and am not in a relationship so I can take off whenever I have an opening in my schedule. Occasionally I will head out on a spur of the moment hiking trip. Even then I’ll let someone know on my way out just in case, if I’m eaten by a bear or something I’d kinda want someone to have a clue where I disappeared.
Walking out of a sports event that you were attending with other people without telling them is crazy.
I’m not sure if this would count, but the summer that I turned 19 (still living at home), I would stay with my then-girlfriend (who was a little bit older and had her own place about a half-hour from where I lived) for several days at a time without letting anyone know. One time, I’d been there for over a week and when I went to work that day, one of my managers told me I should probably call home. When I asked why, I was told that my mom had called to see if I’d been showing up so she would know whether or not to report me missing.
I moved out the following summer. In the meantime, I got the hint that I even though I was legally an adult, I should still give my folks a head’s up if I was going to be gone for an extended amount of time.
Not quite, but the conversation reminded me of a time when I was single, and living with a roommate who had gone home for an extended visit with family. I was in a job where I traveled a lot.
I got a call from work asking if I could fill in for someone at the last minute at a conference in Rome. Okay, sure. It was similar to work I was doing anyway. At that point, I didn’t always tell my family (back in my hometown) every single time I traveled, I vaguely thought I would email or maybe call when I arrived. (This was before everyone had a cell phone).
Arrived in Rome, there was some sort of strike that impacted the university and the conference was cancelled. I let work know, and I guess implied I was returning, which I attempted to do. But my flight was delayed due to weather, and I was re-routed through Paris. The delay was enough that I still missed the Paris connection. The airline was offering vouchers, and I thought to myself, “hey self, maybe they would give you a few days in Paris” so I proposed this and I think they were actually relieved to give me a ticket on a flight in a few days.
On about the second day in Paris, I realized NO ONE IN THE WORLD KNOWS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW. It was a weird feeling. Also sort of cool. Okay, I guess immigration officials knew, but my family and roommate didn’t even know I had left town, my office probably assumed I was home – no one who actually knew me knew where I was.
Other than that, it was a very routine stay. I didn’t do anything crazy.
Bolding mine. I would agree that to most city folks, this sort of thing is probably unthinkable, for my family and I, it is a distinct possibility. We are very comfortable in the woods and we do like our own company. I have been snowbound alone in a cabin for two months. I have been told that most folks would go crazy! It was fun! There was a small library, & I read all of the books at least twice. While I like people, I also enjoy being alone with myself. I think that most folks do not like being alone for long periods of time because they do not like themselves. I am probably wrong on this though.
The issue of the “impaired brain function” is one that may indeed be relevant. On the other hand, He may have told the relatives that he was leaving. They may have ignored him, or they may have thought, like you, no way is he going to leave us to be on his own. Considering the lack of follow up on this news story, we are just making some WAGs here.
How do you know what his “survival awareness” is? He worked on a ranch. He is a country boy. You could call him a cowboy if you wanted to. I think he has a lot more “survival awareness” then most folks do.
It has not been “at or near freezing temperatures every night”. Have you looked at the nightly lows in that part of Colorado for that time frame? It has been a mild fall so far. The nightly lows had been in the 50s around here during that time frame. The Eastern Slope, or the Front Range, as they call it is usually warmer then the western desert where I live. Most of my friends could “sleep in the bushes” as you call it, and do well at those temperatures. They could walk/hitchhike to whatever destination that they wanted to get to as well.
If we were talking about a city kid, then YES, you are probably correct in thinking that he has no idea as to what he is up against.
Once again, you may be right. I just would not jump to any conclusions without any more information then we have been given.