In case of a disappearance, sending a 'search request' via an Email can carry risks of exposure. Risks which are not always apparent at first.

A case study:

Like CH., A., R. and the family who learnt the hard way and paid the price...

The young man disappeared from his house at the beginning of 2003. In order to expedite the search, his family decided to call upon the solidarity and goodwill of all internautes around the glob and posted a 'search request' using the Email option.
As often the case may be in such situations, distribution of the message took proportions almost impossible to control, and nearly became Spam.
R., has been found ever since and so the search request is no longer valid, but the email continues to go around the globe, from person to person and from account to account...
Currently R's. photo is known to tens of thousands of internet surfers. The family's phone number is at the disposal of almost everyone.
All of this is now being circulated via the Email. They appear on personal pages, forums, etc… Let us see some of the consequences for R. and his family:
Respond to all those who recognize his face on the streets, all the anonymous phone calls, all those who must be told that the person has been found and that the search notice is no longer valid and that they need not contacting the police, etc.etc…

Obviously it is the anguish and the desire to find the missing person who pushed the family and friends to write and post the message on the net. We all know that email is an efficient and easy way of communicating. We can reach tremendous number of people very quickly. We can even post a photo to facilitate the search.
But, it is only after the missing person is found that we realize the enormity and at the same time, the limits of using such option:
A chain of solidarity on the internet will never stop! Once initiated, it is almost impossible to stop. It is not possible to stop the spread of emails, especially if the email contains a photo, a phone number that is not that of a police or that of an organization dedicated to search of missing persons. These messages will continue to go around the globe forever!

Without wanting to minimize the pain suffered by those close to the disappeared person, we believe we should all be aware of the consequences of posting such email(s) on the Internet.
• If you are confronted with the disappearance of a youngster and if you really want to help, there are good many things that you can do:
• Offer your help by organizing a search party to carry out the search within a limited geographical area such as in a village, neighborhood and its immediate vicinity.

• Offer your help by contacting a print shop to create posters of the missing person (try to use already established layouts, designed by groups specializing in the search for a missing kid. Organizations such as FREDI for example). The posters should carry details of the missing person, his/her photo, contact telephone number (Police or the specialized organization ONLY).

• Offer your help by taking care of the other kids in the family of the missing person, making food, doing the household chores, washing, taking the dog for a walk, cleaning the house, etc… in short, all the activities which must be done despite the hectic situation.

• Offer your help by taking care of the telephone communications. Parents who are already torn apart by the pain of the disappearance of a youngster, must also participate actively in physical search, interviews, and at the same time being next to the telephone in case an important call comes through.
• Offer your help by driving the parents to their destination. On their own, they might run the risk of accidents because they are simply under tremendous pressure and suffer great anxiety.

Therefore, it is far more effective and desirable to let the specialized organizations to do the bulk of the search work for they are much better equipped to do such work. This might seem difficult to accept especially when one is faced with the disappearance of a loved one.

There is, of course, the FREDI foundation whose HQ is located in Switzerland. But it works on an international basis. There are also a number of other sites, which may or may not be affiliated to FREDI, but they all have the same goal.
Here are some of these sites which are listed on the FREDI's site.

NB: FREDI does not take into account such requests. However, if it has the least hint of doubt that the message may be based on reality, the first thing it does is to verify the validity of the note.