There has been no news. Much speculation...but that route is pointless. This is a terribly stressful time for Sam's family, loved ones, and friends...there are so many of us grieving.

Anyone who knows Sam knows he didn't leave the place with food cooking and go touring around. I pray for something, anything, that will bring closure but the longer the wait for that, the less likely that it will happen.

This article tells the tale of how many people went missing in Jamaica up to the date that Sam disappeared:

National alert programme for missing persons

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Having to live with the uncertainty of the whereabouts and safety of a family member or loved one is, undoubtedly, one of the worst ordeals one could experience.

The emotional and physical strain alone can be devastating and, in the most extreme cases, result in death, leaving families with added grief.

Our reflection on this most unpleasant scenario is informed by the alarming police data published in the lead story of yesterday's Daily Observer showing that a total of 1,112 people were reported missing between January 1 and September 23 this year, and of that number, 723 are children.

Of the total number of persons reported missing, the police say that 353 have been found or returned home. Unfortunately, the police were unable to say how many of the missing children have been located and returned home safely.

These statistics take on added significance now, given the national focus on children and the violence to which they are being subjected. Indeed, yesterday's story highlighted the fact that so far, two of the 723 children reported missing have been found dead.

All Jamaica, we are sure, grieves with the families of 11-year-old Aamir Scott, and 15-year-old Baggio Easy. Master Scott met a most savage death a few weeks ago in Sandside district, St Mary, while young Mr Easy's decomposing remains were found in water on the edge of the Riverton City landfill in early September.

We are also moved by the outpouring of concern for the well-being of 11-year-old Ananda Dean who was last seen a few weeks ago on her way home from school.

Her family and community have been very active in publicising her disappearance, bringing into sharp focus our attitude to the filing of missing persons' reports and how we respond to those reports.

The Jamaican police, we are told, no longer observe the 24-hour waiting period to classify someone as missing. That, we believe, is a positive change in policy that indicates the importance we assign to this issue.

Of course, we acknowledge that our police are challenged by human resource constraints, as well as the fact that they have their hands full dealing with violent crime. In addition, the common experience of the police is that many persons reported missing are usually found alive. That is so, particularly in the case of young girls who, the police will tell you, most often run away from home and are either found with male partners or return home voluntarily.

That, however, should not deter us from treating all cases of missing persons as crime-related until all enquiries to test this hypothesis are disproved.

But there is, as well, an important role for parents, relatives and communities on a whole in tackling this issue. An example of this is seen in the Ananda Dean case in which almost every available medium has been used to publicise her disappearance.

We would, of course, remind the public of the danger of publishing the phone numbers of relatives of missing persons, as that has the potential to encourage extortionists to prey on those already traumatised. The police are there to deal with these kinds of issues and should be used as the point of contact.

We would also support the implementation of a national alert programme under which the police, media, relevant state agencies and the public collaborate in a structured and systematic way to quickly locate missing persons, especially children.

It is done successfully in other jurisdictions. There's no reason why it can't be done here.

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source:

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/html/20081006T200000-0500_141021_OBS_NATIONAL_ALERT_PROGRAMME_FOR_MISSING_PERSONS.asp