We immediately called every person he knew; we contacted the authorities, the hospitals, the suicide hotlines.\u00a0 We contacted missing person organizations, newspapers and any tv source that would listen.\u00a0\u00a0 We hacked into his phone, his email accounts, his Harvard accounts, his medical, etrade and bank accounts. \u00a0We did a forensic on his computer and established a timeline of at least a month of searches, emails, phone calls, bank transactions, prescriptions\u2026etc.\u00a0 \u00a0We had government agencies, specific database searches and even the teamsters got involved.<\/p>\n
We flew to California within days and immediately went through all of Michael\u2019s belongings looking for anything that might give us a clue to his whereabouts.\u00a0 We drove his car to the places we knew he loved to go and walk.\u00a0 We drove along the beautiful Pacific Coast highway, a place Michael loved to be.<\/p>\n
It was there, after leaving a missing persons flyer at a McDonald\u2019s in Pacifica, California, that a manger ran out and claimed to have seen Michael that very morning\u2026. just four hours before we got there.\u00a0\u00a0 His explanation of his behaviors and even his food order had me fairly convinced. \u00a0We alerted everybody and did all we could to find this man, to no avail.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n We went home.<\/em><\/p>\n We are well aware that Michael may no longer be with us. \u00a0But, honestly, that was not my initial\u00a0thought when we\u00a0first learned he was missing and it is not my assumption on this day, 13 years later. \u00a0It is a long and complex conversation but\u00a0Michael had mentioned disappearing.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n “What would you do if one day you called and I just wasn’t here anymore?” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n He felt as though his struggle with this disease was a burden on the people who loved him. \u00a0He stated that he thought we had been through enough and shouldn’t have to deal with his struggles. \u00a0He was fascinated by the Bourne Identity<\/a> and Catch Me If You Can<\/a>. \u00a0He studied Buddhism and visited monasteries in the year before he went missing.<\/p>\n Buddha was 29 when he went in search of enlightenment.<\/a> \u00a0Coincidence? \u00a0 Maybe.<\/p>\n Before technology got so advanced, we spent years\u00a0answering the same questions, sending faxes and comparing dental records to cadavers.\u00a0 We spent hours looking at forensically reconstructed faces.\u00a0 We sent flyers to friends and family members all over the world.<\/p>\n In May of last year we had a possible sighting in San Diego, California.\u00a0 Everyone was convinced this homeless man was our \u201cMichael\u201d. There was a\u00a085.2% facial recognition. \u00a0An\u00a0entire army of strangers\u00a0out looking for him on the other side of the Country. \u00a0Finding this man in a matter of hours.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it was not our Michael.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0However, it was the very first \u201csomething\u201d in more than 12 years.\u00a0 The response from everyone was heartwarming.<\/p>\n Our glass remains half full.<\/em><\/p>\n It is very likely that Michael is still out there…<\/p>\n Maybe in a psychotic break…. unaware of his surroundings and struggling to live.<\/p>\n Maybe on his own path to enlightenment. Trying to save himself… from himself.<\/p>\n Maybe (mom’s personal favorite)…being coddled by a rich older woman in a tropical paradise.<\/p>\n The hardest part really is the not knowing. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So, until we know differently, we will continue to search\u00a0and we\u00a0wont stop believing that he will come home to us.<\/p>\n Please take a moment today to think about Michael. \u00a0Share Michael’s story, \u00a0Michaels flyer<\/a> or this post<\/a>. \u00a0Reach out to someone you know who suffers with depression and just ask them how they’re doing. \u00a0You could very well be the difference in their day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f7f9fc” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”3″ include_categories=”current” excerpt_length=”150″ use_overlay=”on” overlay_icon_color=”#546387″ hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.25)” hover_icon=”1||divi||400″ _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_blog][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Missing: Year 13…13 years ago today Michael left his home in Menlo Park, California and bought a CalTran ticket for enough stops to get him to the RMV.\u00a0 \u00a0His plan for that day was to get a photo ID that he could use to fly home to Massachusetts. Later that morning, his roommate saw him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" 13 years ago today Michael left his home in Menlo Park, California and bought a CalTran ticket for enough stops to get him to the RMV.\u00a0 \u00a0His plan for that day was to get a photo ID that he could use to fly home to Massachusetts.<\/p> Later that morning, his roommate saw him lying on the sofa with the ticket next to him on the table.\u00a0 He asked him about going to the RMV and Michael said that \u201che just couldn\u2019t get there\u201d.\u00a0 Michael had been suffering from anxiety attacks along with most every other debilitating symptom of his depressive disorder which was in full swing due to many recent tragic, life altering, events.<\/p> That day, it is presumed that Michael simply walked away from his life as he knew it.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p> We immediately called every person he knew; we contacted the authorities, the hospitals, the suicide hotlines.\u00a0 We contacted missing person organizations, newspapers and any tv source that would listen.\u00a0\u00a0 We hacked into his phone, his email accounts, his Harvard accounts, his medical, etrade and bank accounts. \u00a0We did a forensic on his computer and established a timeline of at least a month of searches, emails, phone calls, bank transactions, prescriptions\u2026etc.\u00a0 \u00a0We had government agencies, specific database searches and even the teamsters got involved.<\/p> We flew to California within days and immediately went through all of Michael\u2019s belongings looking for anything that might give us a clue to his whereabouts.\u00a0 We drove his car to the places we knew he loved to go and walk.\u00a0 We drove along the beautiful Pacific Coast highway, a place Michael loved to be.<\/p> It was there, after leaving a missing persons flyer at a McDonald\u2019s in Pacifica, California, that a manger ran out and claimed to have seen Michael that very morning\u2026. just four hours before we got there.\u00a0\u00a0 His explanation of his behaviors and even his food order had me fairly convinced. \u00a0We alerted everybody and did all we could to find this man, to no avail.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p> We went home.<\/em><\/p> We are well aware that Michael may no longer be with us. \u00a0But, honestly, that was not my initial\u00a0thought when we\u00a0first learned he was missing and it is not my assumption on this day, 13 years later. \u00a0It is a long and complex conversation but\u00a0Michael had mentioned disappearing.\u00a0<\/b><\/p> \"What would you do if one day you called and I just wasn't here anymore?\" \u00a0<\/em><\/p> He felt as though his struggle with this disease was a burden on the people who loved him. \u00a0He stated that he thought we had been through enough and shouldn't have to deal with his struggles. \u00a0He was fascinated by the Bourne Identity<\/a> and Catch Me If You Can<\/a>. \u00a0He studied Buddhism and visited monasteries in the year before he went missing.<\/p> Buddha was 29 when he went in search of enlightenment.<\/a> \u00a0Coincidence? \u00a0 Maybe.<\/p> Before technology got so advanced, we spent years\u00a0answering the same questions, sending faxes and comparing dental records to cadavers.\u00a0 We spent hours looking at forensically reconstructed faces.\u00a0 We sent flyers to friends and family members all over the world.<\/p> In May of last year we had a possible sighting in San Diego, California.\u00a0 Everyone was convinced this homeless man was our \u201cMichael\u201d. There was a\u00a085.2% facial recognition. \u00a0An\u00a0entire army of strangers\u00a0out looking for him on the other side of the Country. \u00a0Finding this man in a matter of hours.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it was not our Michael.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0However, it was the very first \u201csomething\u201d in more than 12 years.\u00a0 The response from everyone was heartwarming.<\/p> It is very likely that Michael is still out there...<\/p> Maybe in a psychotic break.... unaware of his surroundings and struggling to live.<\/p> Maybe on his own path to enlightenment. Trying to save himself... from himself.<\/p> Maybe (mom's personal favorite)...being coddled by a rich older woman in a tropical paradise.<\/p> The hardest part really is the not knowing. \u00a0<\/em><\/p> So, until we know differently, we will continue to search\u00a0and we\u00a0wont stop believing that he will come home to us.<\/p> Please take a moment today to think about Michael. \u00a0Share Michael's story, \u00a0Michaels flyer<\/a> or this post<\/a>. \u00a0Reach out to someone you know who suffers with depression and just ask them how they're doing. \u00a0You could very well be the difference in their day.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[147,159],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4938"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8801,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4938\/revisions\/8801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"never_give_up\"](\"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/never_give_up-1-808x1024.jpg\")
Our glass remains half full.<\/em><\/p>
![Michaels flyer<\/a> or](\"https:\/\/michaelsrun.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/new_flyer.jpg\"){kind=link}