Families of the missing face a unique kind of torment and pain

The death of a close friend or family member can be utterly devastating.

However, there is always a grieving process.

No matter how long or difficult, there is ultimately a chance to come to terms with your loss and appreciate that life will never be quite the same again.

Meanwhile, some kind of funeral or other ceremony affords a sense of closure – and can even mark the start of a new beginning.

But what if no such sense of closure is possible?

What if, rather than dying, a friend or relative simply vanishes?

Of course some of those who go missing return home in fairly short order.

In other tragic cases, remains are soon found.

But there are other examples where people disappear never to be seen or heard from again.

Such cases bring their own particular kind of agony.

Fifer Allan Bryant was last seen in 2013. Despite numerous appeals and countless searches, his whereabouts remain unknown.

His family have lived in a horrendous

The impact on those left behind is huge

limbo ever since that fateful night more than a decade ago.

As Allan’s father says: “The fight to find Allan will never stop. Our lives have been ruined.”

His family is not alone in suffering so terribly – far from it.

In the UK someone is reported missing every 90 seconds – a staggering 17,251 people last year.

A spokesman for the Missing People charity outlines the horrific uncertainty loved ones face.

They use the phrase “unambiguous loss” to describe the grief experienced.

Worryingly, for reasons not fully understood, the number of people going missing is on the rise.

Experts believe that dementia may play a role, while financial problems are also increasingly commonplace and may be responsible for some people sliding away from society.

There may be nefarious reasons behind other disappearances.

It is a complex problem with no single cause.

Yet one thing is certain and uniform

– the impact on those left behind when somebody goes missing is enormous.

The government points towards its support for the National Missing Persons Framework, the group which does so much to support missing people and their families.

As with so many problems in society, raising awareness and education are also key.

If the problem is better understood, we may just be able to tackle it more effectively.

Families such as that of Allan Bryant deserve great credit for speaking out.

Here’s hoping fewer people have to deal with the kind of heartache they are facing in the future.