CNN
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A family man from Wisconsin. An up-and-coming artist from Hawaii. Ivy League graduate from Maryland. At face value, Ryan Borgward, Hannah Kobayashi, and Luigi Mangione all lead different lives and come from different backgrounds. However, they all took an unexpected path and disappeared from their jobs, daily lives, friends, and families.
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hundreds of thousands of adults are reported missing each year in the United States. Some people intentionally flee, said former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
“As an adult, you can decide to leave your life behind and start somewhere else or go find something else, whatever it is,” McCabe told CNN.
McCabe added that there are many reasons why people run, including work pressure, financial issues, health issues, romantic relationships, and social media. Experts say these variables can lead to increased anxiety and stress, and some people who don’t have the emotional resources to deal with these issues may be tempted to quit their current life and start a new one. They point out that some people find it easier to start.
McCabe said law enforcement often designates these individuals as voluntarily disappeared. This month, Los Angeles police announced that Kobayashi visited the U.S.-Mexico border and entered Mexico alone, and was classified as a voluntarily disappeared person.
The 30-year-old has since been “found safe,” her family announced this week, but she has not yet returned to the United States. The family’s statement does not indicate where Kobayashi was or how the family determined her safety. CNN has reached out to Kobayashi for comment.
Kobayashi’s family is still reeling from the death of his father, who committed suicide just days before Thanksgiving after traveling to Los Angeles to look for Kobayashi.
The disappearances of Americans continue to garner public attention, but Lauren Cook, a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders, says the climax of the case is not necessarily a coincidence. Cook said it’s not unusual for adults who lead full lives to have negative thoughts about moving away from everything they know. Before leaving Hawaii, Kobayashi had expressed a desire to distance himself from modern technology, Los Angeles police said.
Although it is extreme, recent stories like this Cook, who is not involved in any of the incidents, told CNN that it speaks to “a huge level of overwhelming that people are feeling.” “They don’t always know easy solutions to their problems, so sometimes they want to run away and get away from it all.”
Experts say running away from home is a common threat when young children are angry or feel misunderstood. Usually, as we grow older, we learn how to control our emotions. But not all adults can do that. Without those skills, life changes and anxieties can become too much for one person to handle alone.
“Unfortunately, when people don’t know how to self-regulate, they can make very bad choices,” Cook said. She added that many people, through no fault of their own, are not taught how to self-regulate as they grow up.
By 2023, more than 563,000 people will be missing Report recorded A database by the National Crime Information Center operated by the FBI that consists of crime data, including missing persons cases of minors and adults.
In about half of these cases, arbitrary criteria were used to classify disappearances as kidnapped or voluntary, according to the NCIC report. According to the data, about 95% of them were identified as runaways.
Cook added that some runaways may be reacting to overstimulation.
“When you’re put under a lot of neurological strain day in and day out, you end up with the same willpower of someone who is well rested and feels in control of what’s going on in their life.” You won’t have the cognitive capacity to make decisions,” Cook said. Cook says people whose brains are overloaded can begin to disconnect from their own lives and eventually lose their ability to empathize with others.
Mr Cook added that people who disappear voluntarily or who are in a “situation of extreme escapism” are more likely to make reckless decisions that harm not only themselves but their loved ones.
Local law enforcement agencies across the country are responsible for investigating missing persons cases, McCabe said. For missing persons under the age of 21, authorities must make the following requests: law Report all missing person cases to the National Crime Information Center, even if the person left voluntarily. But if an adult leaves the country voluntarily, there’s not much local law enforcement or the FBI can do, McCabe said.
“Unless there is some reason to believe that a crime may have been involved, (authorities) cannot afford to take the time and effort to uncover basically all of a person’s history and movements,” McCabe said. he said. Missing person investigations often include forensic analysis, collecting cell phone data and requesting search warrants, he said.
“It’s expensive,” McCabe said. McCabe said missing person investigations are labor-intensive and take up valuable time from public resources such as police officers, forensic analysts and judges. If someone is missing because they want to go missing, those resources are not being used equitably, he said.
This is a difficult reality for both investigators and the families of missing adults to grapple with. McCabe pointed out that there is “no crime” in voluntarily disappearing unless someone commits a crime along the way.
Borgward was arrested last week after authorities in Wisconsin announced that Borgward, 45, staged a kayaking accident and faked suicide before leaving his wife and three children to travel to Eastern Europe. He was charged with obstructing a police officer.
The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office searched for Borgwald’s body for seven weeks but were unable to find it. Eventually, authorities found evidence that Borgwald had fled to Europe via Canada.
Investigators in Wisconsin say Borgwald faked his death for “a variety of reasons” and remains tight-lipped about his exact whereabouts as authorities search for weeks. Ta. Mr. Borgwald has not issued a statement about his actions, nor has his family. Borgwald does not appear to have an attorney and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
In another high-profile case, Mangione, who faces second-degree murder charges in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was reported missing by his mother last month. One of his lawyers has denied his client’s involvement in the murders in New York and expects him to plead not guilty to the murder and other charges in New York.
Mangione’s mother told police in San Francisco, where she knew her son lived, that she had not spoken to her son since July. His phone was constantly going to voicemail, which was also full, she told police. Mangione also seems to have disappeared from social media this year. In July, one user tweeted about Mangione saying, “I haven’t heard from him in months.”
The 26-year-old man appeared to be motivated by anger at the health insurance industry, and viewed the targeted killings as a direct challenge to “corporate greed,” according to an NYPD intelligence report. That’s what it means.
For every person who voluntarily disappeared is found, there is another who is never found.
Mr McCabe said families who feel like no one is looking for their loved one are encouraged to persevere and follow up with relevant law enforcement agencies. “There’s a good chance law enforcement will encounter them in the line of duty,” he says.
According to the US, the proportion of American adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression has increased significantly in recent years. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, approximately 1 in 5 adults over the age of 18 experienced symptoms of anxiety (18.2%) or symptoms of depression (21.4%) within a two-week period.
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a developmental psychologist and senior research fellow in psychology at Clark University, said anxiety and stress can have serious health effects and can motivate people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. He said that there is a sex.
“Depression is different,” Arnett says. “Depression is usually accompanied by some kind of tiredness, and you don’t feel like doing anything. But anxiety and stress are the opposite, and you want to do something to relieve that feeling. ”
Experts say anxiety and stress can be managed through communication, therapy, and medication.
Arnett said current anxiety levels are particularly high among people aged 18 to 29, pointing to the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on mental health. Cook agreed, pointing to the economic disparity between millennials and baby boomers.
“Young people today can’t afford housing and are living paycheck to paycheck,” Cook said. “They feel overwhelmed by all of the different things that their parents seem to be doing so much more easily, and it really becomes overwhelming over time.”
Cook said the country’s poor health care, rising cost of living, and widespread gun violence, as well as the current political climate, are causing some Americans to consider deportation.
Cook and Arnett argue that when people are so stressed that they feel like a kettle on the verge of boiling, communication should be a priority. In some cases, it can look like calling a friend.
“If you feel like your pain is interfering with your daily life and relationships, and you’re really on the verge of doing something extreme, it’s time to seek help,” Arnett says. “It’s time to talk to others about this, especially those closest to you.”
Disconnecting from family, friends, and social media can be a sign that something is wrong.
People looking to make major life changes should try to involve their loved ones in the decision to avoid unnecessary worry, Cook said. “The human brain is wired for the worst,” she says. “When people don’t communicate their plans for withdrawal, you have problems.”
Cook also recommends seeing a therapist to relieve tension. Breathing techniques, exercise, diary, etc. are some of them. practice The CDC says someone can administer consistent relief.
Ultimately, Arnett argues that if you can identify your stressors, you can use stress and anxiety to your advantage.
“Anxiety is a motivator, so you can use it constructively,” Arnett says. “What are they for you? And how can you lessen the feeling of being oppressed and threatened by them?”
