What to do when you find a 'missing person'

[Smiling Cloud]

Two days ago a friend found a japanese guy who doesn't know his own name, where he's from and obviously quite delerious. He was walking along a bridge in ballina with no footbridge into oncomiung traffic so my mate picked him up, took him home and gave him a wash, he looked like he had been walking around wearing the same clothes for quite awhile. Before he took him home he took him to a sushi joint to see if the guys there could getr anything out of him. They could, he speaks japanese but is so confused that he doesn't know anything and can barely even speak.

After he had a shower we sat him down to eat some fruit but he had no idea how to eat until we showed him what to do with it, at which point he must've realised how hungry he was and ate and ate and ate. He is pretty skinny so maybe he hasn't eaten for awhile. While he was eating we decided to go through a little pencil case that he had in his pocket to see if there was anything that would indentify him.

We found; A japanese passport (His name is Choon), some letters in japanese; a cautionary notice that he recieved in byron; a surfers paradise police card with an incident report number on the back; a quarantine seizure of goods notice; a non-resident tax file number addressed to an address in byron bay (we went round there and ended up knowing the guy who lived there but he had no idea who the lad is); a bank card and receipt (he hasn't any money at all) and a form that was filled out to say he was working out on a farm somewhere in whoop whoop and a few other bits and pieces.

Yday some english was coming back to him, he asked me for a cigarette, a lighter and he can say hungry. Another peculiar thing he started doing yday is calling out for eye-re-doe, i don't know exactly how he says it as he says it quite fast. I don't know if that is a name or an expression because sometimes he says it while looking at stuff.

My theory is that he is an exodus fatality, lost his way in the bush found a road and started hitching north, then i reckon he may have taken a quick detour through a cow paddock and completely lost it. He was covered head to toe in mud when my mate found him.

So what to do? Should we look after him in case he gets better so that we can find out where he is from and take him there or should we take him to the japanese embassy so they can ship him home? It would be a major bummer for his holiday to end early if he is going to recover. Pretty sure the embassy only opens during the week anyway.

Any thoughts? And if anyone knows what eye-re-doe (a-i-do or a- ri- do or variations in subject) means that would be most helpful.

[Chiral]

Datura anyone....sounds like this chap has been spiked or even worse may even have dosed himself with tropanes etc..

H.

[MindExpansion]

Dude I would take him into the police station and explain the situation.

They have the ability to find out far more about this dude than you do because they have the power to ask questions and investigate.

They won't ship him off unless his visa has expired or something, and if you tell them that you are cool having him stay with you then I'm sure they will be ok with that until they work out where the guy is from, also they will have access to an interpreter and can probably get him some medical help as since you say he appears a bit unhealthy (thats a paraphrase) this might be good for him.

Don't necessarily one has to assume the involvement of drugs, it is quite possible that he struggles with a mental health disorder, or had a blow to the head, or worse even possibly a stroke causing retrograde amnesia, disorientation, and the loss of memory of functions (e.g, eating).

Peace

Edit: forgot to mention, props to you and your friend man for doing that for someone you don't know.

Edited January 25, 2009 by MindExpansion

[watertrade]

I would take him to the police first of all - they will take care of him. he probably needs medical care or at the very least a medical check up. I'm not a doctor but imagine timing is very important in these cases.

bummer if his holiday does end early but an even bigger bummer if he gets some serious permanent brain damage.

police or hospital - will get the same results anyway.

good luck

[watertrade]

to add what mind expansion said. even if he has over stayed his visa and will be deported, the police ( and other officials) have a responsibility to care for him first and check him out fully. its great you want to help but handing him over to the professionals is the only real way to ensure everything that can be done, will be done.

[Amulte]

i would have gone hospital straight away. Police would take him there when they found they couldnt get any sense from him, i mean the lad obviously needs medical attention.

kudo's on the kindness of strangers, but get the dude to a hospital. they will assess him then contact the police.

EDIT - we are talking about a human right? not a lost puppy?

Edited January 25, 2009 by Amulte

[faustus]

bizarre situation.

if you want to communicate with him, why not look up a few simple sentences in japanese online, get him to write the answer, then translate it online.

but i agree, as intriguing as it may seem to want to piece together his identity and his circumstances, i think you should take him to the hospital.

[PhoenixSon]

japanese tend to add a o on the end of most things so he may be saying aid. aido.

asked my japanese girlfriend what eye re doe might mean but she has no idea.

might of run out of anti-psychotics and tried importing them, then twisted off.

[kenny]

My first thought was that he could be mentally I'll and gone walkabout, away from home or a hospital. Although you mentioned a Passport, so that seems less likely.

Assuming no obvious Injuries as suggested, you can rule out any kind of accident, traffic or otherwise.

I'm just thinking out loud here......... Best bet to take him to a hospital, find out what you can, then call police, If he turns out to have some kind of traumatic brain injury or something of the like.

Also, for all you know, he has people looking for him already. In which case calling the police would be the best solution.

Good luck.

Best case scenario, he never recovers his memory, no one claims him and the police let you keep him after the 60day claim period.

[chilli]

And if anyone knows what eye-re-doe (a-i-do or a- ri- do or variations in subject) means that would be most helpful.

Iaido?

"Iaidō (居合道) is a Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iaido

Hide any katanas you may have lying around and call the cops.

[Torsten]

My first reaction would be to call the cops too, but that's probably because I wouldn't want the responsibility for caring for a stranger.

I've seen what cops do when a tripper or loon gets dropped off there. They try and ship him off to the loony ward asap. I've known people to get locked up there for weeks just cos they got arrested while peacefully tripping on shrooms. On the other hand, if this guy is having a terrible time on dragonfly or some long lasting shit like that then maybe the psychward is the best place for him so they can medicate him and end that misery.

The other thing about reporting him to the cops is that maybe someone is already looking for him. He might have japanese mates who look out for him, but who lost him either at exodus or in byron. If he is starting to cope and you don't mind lookling after him for another day or two, maybe you can inform the cops that he is staying at your place so they have a contact in case someone is looking for him. ie, give him a refuge, but also make him available to the rest of the world.

[Amulte]

ill say again, its not a puppy.

anything happened?

i have to agree with the negative to calling the police...

I've known people to get locked up there for weeks just cos they got arrested while peacefully tripping on shrooms

ive seen that happen a few times, hence i say take the lad to a hospital, they will call the cops but atleast they have MEDICAL AUTHORITY. IE the coppers cant just ditch him in a ward if the emergency room staff are saying he needs treatment.

Sad fact of the matter is that it is possibly already too late for the sod. if he has gone too long without treatment for whatever is effecting the bugger then any potential damage could be irreversible.

SHIT i mean even calling a radio station thats local would be better than nothing. i mean, IF he is a missing person, he will have more chance of being found by those looking for him if he is on the street as opposed to inside someones flat.

unless of course you put up signs round the neighborhood, like you do when you find a lost pet.....

dont get me wrong, all praises of human kindness to you and your friend for helping a stranger that most people would have not even thought of giving a second look, you both deserve a commendation for that IMHO, but seriously...

[Amulte]

My first thought was that he could be mentally I'll and gone walkabout, away from home or a hospital. Although you mentioned a Passport, so that seems less likely.

WTF???? do they not give passports to the mentally ill? how on earth do you figure that one?

[Torsten]

WTF???? do they not give passports to the mentally ill? how on earth do you figure that one?

mentally ill people tend not to go on working holidays overseas in my experience, so a passport is a good indication that he was probably stable when he arrived here.

Sad fact of the matter is that it is possibly already too late for the sod. if he has gone too long without treatment for whatever is effecting the bugger then any potential damage could be irreversible.

How do you figure that? If he got picked up on sunday after an overdose/incompatibility from saturday night, then any neuronal damage would have been done by then. As for psychological damage, I seriously find psych wards far more psychologically damaging than not coming to terms with the cosmos for a couple of days. If he is not agitated by his surroundings then surely a peaceful home is a better place for him to recover than a frantic psych ward.

I've had my fair share of losing it in foreign cities and I've always been lucky enough to have some ravers or strangers look after me until things got back to where I could cope. On MDMA, shrooms or acid that's just a few hours or a day usually, but with those funky nasties like dragonfly making the rounds I think 2-3 days would be quite normal as a recovery period.

Don't forget he was found in Ballina which isn't far from Byron Bay and it is festival season up here right now and he was found on sunday. While I think that authorities should definitely be informed about him, I think it is quite a safe bet that he is a party casualty.

[MindExpansion]

A party casualty if he's lucky...but as I mentioned these symptoms also point to STROKE or another cerebrovascular disorder (which may even be a result of his partying). I might just be a bit paranoid though...

Peace

Edited January 26, 2009 by MindExpansion

[chilli]

I was just joking when I said call the cops, I thought I made that obvious with the katana reference and the aido quote... hey wait, you haven't posted back, maybe he sliced you up already?

Jokes aside, like someone else said leave it to the pros, he's not a lost puppy.

No need to be too paranoid about the cops I don't think, and they'd be most able to find out his identity, if he is missing, get an interpreter etc... pretty unlikely the cops will lock up some rich japanese tourist experiencing mental problems unless he has aido'd a few people already.

But if you're paranoid or just hate cops take him to the other big institution, just get him out of your flat I think is the general consensus.

If you love something set it free...

If it returns, it's yours forever

Unless it is coming back to wreak revenge with some aido shit on your charitable ass

*edit* What is dragonfly?

*edit* Oh I see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromo-DragonFLY

Edited January 26, 2009 by Sublime Crime

[Torsten]

A party casualty if he's lucky...but as I mentioned these symptoms also point to STROKE or another cerebrovascular disorder (which may even be a result of his partying). I might just be a bit paranoid though...

Peace

good point. sorry, I missed that before.

it's just that it's byron and it's backpacker festival casualties season. It would be nice to have that confirmed though [like a door stamp etc].

[chilli]

good point. sorry, I missed that before.

it's just that it's byron and it's backpacker festival casualties season. It would be nice to have that confirmed though [like a door stamp etc].

I think it would be nice to have it confirmed that Smiling Cloud did not in fact get chopped into a very fine sushi last night, and is not currently being jostled around in the belly of some katana wielding maniac running around the streets.

[MindExpansion]

^^^ HAahahah ah man, that gives me my giggles for the day haha.

I can see it now, some crazy japanese tourist all fucked up on a bromo cocktail, convinced he is 'the samurai'.

SmilingC please confirm that your still in one piece

Peace

[Torsten]

he was in one piece a few hours ago, but I haven't got any feedback on the 'pet' yet.

[chilli]

he was in one piece a few hours ago, but I haven't got any feedback on the 'pet' yet.

Maybe it was the Japanese guy in disguise, wearing SmilingCloud's skin and clothes as a costume.

Edited January 26, 2009 by Sublime Crime

[Amulte]

mentally ill people tend not to go on working holidays overseas in my experience, so a passport is a good indication that he was probably stable when he arrived here.

Ahh ha! now i understand the reasoning, but really what if the lad was on meds and ran out. sure i have to admit one shouldn't/wouldn't be that wreakless if they required it so badly in the 1st place, and it is highly unlikely, but that doesn't mean its not possible.

Sad fact of the matter is that it is possibly already too late for the sod. if he has gone too long without treatment for whatever is effecting the bugger then any potential damage could be irreversible.

How do you figure that? If he got picked up on sunday after an overdose/incompatibility from saturday night, then any neuronal damage would have been done by then.

Yeah that's if it was overdose etc, ive been thinking it was a stroke myself, and what i was leaning to with my comment on it potentially being too late. There is a window of about 24 hours where one must get checked out or it could lead to permanent disability or death. And Mind Expansion is correct it does appear like the symptoms of stroke. but yes festivals in the area he was found in are a possible indication to how he got so disorientated, i can see why its a possibility.

^^^ HAahahah ah man, that gives me my giggles for the day haha.

I can see it now, some crazy japanese tourist all fucked up on a bromo cocktail, convinced he is 'the samurai'.

ROFLMAO

[ballzac]

I agree with those who say it sounds like a brain injury. A psychotic episode is more likely to cause a person to behave eratically, whereas as it sounds like this guy is suffering more from memory loss and loss of motor skills etc. Having trouble with speech is definitely an indication of a stroke or haemorrhage, which is also suggested by the lack of obvious external head injury. We could sit around playing guessing games forever, but if you take him to hospital they will do a CT scan and/or other tests and will hopefully be able to treat him for whatever is wrong with him.

Also, is it possible he is saying "arigato-o" meaning "thank you"?

[Chiral]

Its like the big guessing game...we need a follow up on this guy and we all need to know what happened to him and what he took.

Big Big chance he lost it on something and went wandering and started babbling to himself..remember some people really lose it on what you or I call a single dose.

His health is paramount and should be the first thing looked at..don't take him to the cops..hospital first but I think what is paramount is communication so he can relay whats happened.

H.

[MindExpansion]

There is a window of about 24 hours where one must get checked out or it could lead to permanent disability or death.

Actually unfortunately the damage from stroke is virtually done at the moment of infarction, but the longer the ischaemia lasts (assuming tis an ischaemic stroke and not haemorrhagic in which case treatment is different, but ischaemic stroke is more common) the greater the damage. And 24 hours is a far greater window than actually exists, most treatments (there are not that many, basically heparin, which is debatedly inneffective, and tPA) of ischaemic brain injury, such as the new tPA, which has to be given within 3 hours of injury, must be given within a far smaller window than 24 hours.

Peace