resources for finding someone

March 25, 2017 4:20 PM

My friend's mother has been missing for a month (and may lose her housing) and my friend has a couple questions.

Posting this at friend's request; friend will be following this thread.

Overview
- Friend's maternal grandma died a month ago, and friend's mother has been missing since that time.
- Friend lives the next state over, a few hours by car, but has been visiting Portland recently to handle her grandma's estate and to check on her mom.
- Friend has received 2-3 texts and had one phone conversation with her mother this past month. Mother was acting secretive and not communicating much prior to grandmother's death, as well.
- This whole month, she has not notified anyone in the family as to where she is.
- I have the impression that the mother's mental health may not be stable.
- Mother was living in low-income housing in Portland, Oregon - she has a voucher. She hasn't been to that apartment recently, though, and has been sent a "10 day notice of termination for repeat violation." Management at the housing facility will not provide any information to our friend because the required release form isn't on file.
- Friend dropped by a local Department of Human Services office, but they weren't able to help.
- A few days ago, Friend's brother filed a missing persons report with the Portland police, who were able to find paperwork showing that Mother has a court date. The actual date is unknown.
- Friend is contacting the Community Alliance of Tenants and will try to speak with a lawyer.

Goals/Questions
- How can our friend find her mother with minimal police involvement, and with free or low-cost resources?
- What can our friend do to help keep her mom's record clear and settle her termination notice and court date? (sub-question: How do low-income apartment buildings in Portland handle evictions when the tenant is not present?)

posted by aniola to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

If the friend is the closest living relative, a hospital may at least be able to disclose if she is there, if nothing else. 'Hospital' might include nursing homes this amount of time out. If this is the case, social workers at a medical facility deal with housing and court stuff all the time.
posted by cobaltnine at 4:24 PM on March 25, 2017

If your mom has a voucher, she probably has a social worker. I'd try calling Portland low income housing offices, telling them you're trying to find your mother's social worker to disclose an issue.
posted by corb at 4:32 PM on March 25, 2017 [5 favorites]

This is snooping, and would often be ethically questionable, but do you know if your friend's mother's cell phone has any sort of GPS attached to it? Assuming the mother is carrying the phone and assuming you can access it, that would tell you where she is.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 6:05 PM on March 25, 2017

Go to her apartment and talk to her neighbours. They will know why she's being evicted and who she's been hanging out with lately and they might even tell your friend if she asks the right questions and seems trustworthy.
posted by fshgrl at 8:09 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Honestly, this sounds like a classic case of an Alzheimer's patient wandering away.
I know you said a missing persons report was filed, but do they not have anything like a Silver Alert out there? It's like an Amber Alert, but for seniors who suddenly go missing.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:42 PM on March 26, 2017

Response by poster: Our friend found her mom. I don't know all the details, but her mom called her yesterday and they met up. Thanks for all the advice, y'all!
posted by aniola at 7:40 AM on March 27, 2017 [2 favorites]