It’s surprisingly common for teenagers to go missing at least once or twice during their early years. They will go through many phases as they grow up, and being rebellious will often be one of the biggest of these, giving them plenty of reason to disappear when you least expect it. As a matter of fact, my own son decided at one point that he wanted to leave home when he was younger, as he didn’t think he was getting as much independence as he should. Of course, though, the fact that this is common doesn’t make it any less scary. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the work which can be done to find a teenager when they go missing. It doesn’t matter what made them leave; you need to find them as soon as you can.
Follow Social Media
Social media can be an incredibly powerful tool when you’re looking for someone, and teenagers often overlook this when they run away. New photos being posted will often come with locations attached, making it incredibly easy for you to find where they might be if they add anything to their profiles. Text posts can also work for this, though they won’t come with the same metadata as a photograph, and this means that they may not be as accurate.
Talk to Their Friends
While they may not like to involve you in their personal life, you will have almost certainly met your child’s friends at some point over the years. These people can be a great resource when you’re looking for your child, and you shouldn’t hesitate to contact them on social media if you can’t find your child. Some will be loyal to your teenager, and won’t tell you anything, though others may be willing to give you the information you’re looking for.
Track Their Phone
It’s easy to ignore the location tracking features of a smartphone, and many people never bother to turn off their GPS. This gives you the power to track your child’s phone, enabling you to find their exact location as long as you have the right tools for the job. A free phone tracker by number will give you an idea of the city or town your teenager is in, while full-on GPS tracking will give you a much clearer picture.
Check Their Top Spots
Finally, as the last idea to try, it’s time to move away from the web. Teenagers will often take themselves off the grid when they run away from home, working hard to limit your options when it comes to finding them. Of course, though, you can always simply go out and look for them at their favorite spots around town. It’s unlikely that they’ve dropped their habits, and this should make it easy to figure out where they’ve gone.
With all of this in mind, you should have a much better chance of finding your child if they ever go missing. This can be a parent’s worst nightmare, but there are a lot of tools around the web that can help you out, and more and more options are being made all the time.
