Do you think going to look for someone you lost is a good idea?

What a hard situation. I’m sorry.

If your friend wanted you to know where he was, don’t you think he would have told you?

What kind of cops do you have? I think you should continue to look for him. @Likeradar what if he can’t tell her/him? Don’t give up hope! I think it is a great idea to go look for him. It shows that you truly love him, if you’re willing do to this. If you do look for him, be safe. Maybe have a friend go with you? I hope he is fine and I hope you find him. good luck. It’s going to be hard to find one person out of the billions in the world though. :/

@ducky_dnl He’s 19 and considered an adult. If he took stuff and made it clear that he left then they don’t have any recourse. Especially if he has a history of doing it and there is no sign of a stuggle. For all anyone knows he could’ve joined the military. He broke no laws by leaving and I don’t think his parents can push the issue.
@dooblebear I lived in NYC. There are a lot of people there. You can live there for years and never run into anyone you know. Stay home. You have a better chance that he will reach out to you.

Finding him in NY will be an almost impossible task. There are 22.232 million people in New York City as of 2009 Census estimates. In addition, it can be a very dangerous place for an 18 ( or 19! ) year old. I strongly recommend you not go unless someone older you can trust goes with you.

If the guy is missing you can always call the police. You don’t even know he’s really in new york. Going there without a clue just isn’t wise.

I would use the internet to your advantage. Make it known that you want to find him and know that he’s okay. Use social media sites, facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. As everyone suggests, New York is a very hard place to look for someone. With any hope and luck he’ll see that and come to you. I really wish you the best of luck.
Here’s one link for you.
Another to get you started.

Just to be clear: were you his girlfriend or what sort of friend?

@ducky_dnl He’s an adult with what sounds like very little support system, and he’s had trial disappearances before. Is there a chance he can’t contact her? Sure. But from the sounds of things, this was intentional.

I think the bottom line here is that your friend is 19, he’s of age, he’s an adult. He has the right to go wherever he wants (unless he’s a fugitive or on probation, fleeing debts, etc.) and not tell anyone where he’s gone. You are also not next of kin. Unless you have some reason to suspect that he actually is a “missing person” or an endangered person or has been the victim of foul play, you can’t really expect law enforcement to help you find him. That’s not what the police do. They don’t help friends track down adults who may have just moved somewhere else. And if you are correct, that his family doesn’t care at all about him (and the family situation may very well have circumstances, nuances and issues you don’t fully understand) he very well may have done just that: moved away, moved on. You can try to find him but it will pretty much have to be on your own dime. Do a lot of internet searches or hire a private detective of some sort. And if you do find him, he may be very grateful, touched that you cared enough to track him down but you should also prepare yourself to accept and respect that he may not have wanted to be found. That is one of the risks of looking for him.

You can’t be sure that is or ever was in New York. People in those situations often live by “the seat of their pants” and other opportunities might have presented. If he has feelings for you you will hear from him one day. If not there is little that you can “realistically” do. Does he have Facebook, myspace etc.? If so just keep an eye on them.

Did he take his cell phone?