WHERE ARE THEY??

THE INQUIRING MIND

Issue #327 – October 2025

You won’t see it on the BBC, or read about it in the Guardian, or the Daily Mail. (They're ALL captured, but you already knew that.)

People all over England, Scotland, and Wales are going MISSSING. They’re not on the missing persons register, and as far as we can tell, they’re not in custody either.

SO WHERE ARE THEY?!

Since March, hundreds of individuals across England, Scotland, and Wales have disappeared without public record, legal process, or explanation. There have been no alerts, or investigations. Their families have not been permitted to appeal for information.

These are adults from all walks of life. At first they don't seem to have much in common. They are different ages, and widespread locations. Not to be crass, but they are from all social classes, although there are more missing from the working class and those affected by poverty.

They are office clerks, delivery drivers, students, midwives, and retirees. They left behind flats with the lights still on, pets under, phones charging. In more than one case, they left meals half-eaten, suggesting a hurried snatch.

In several cases, they left work for a doctor's appointment, and didn't come back.

Here is what the cases have in common:
VANISHED - the individual is gone without a trace

NO APPEAL - the families have not been supported to make a public appeal for information. They can make their own of course, but no conference is called. If they post on social media, this is "shadow banned" - the platform squeezes reach so that few people ever see it. In several cases, these posts are taken down by "fact checkers" for containing "misleading information". If they try to get the story in their local paper, it never makes it past the editor, or it's buried in a tiny column near the back.

POLICE NO HELP - Even if there is a flurry of activity initially, this fizzles out and the family is fobbed off, told there is no evidence the person has come to harm, and has probably just done a runner. Any follow up is squashed.

The government has issued no statement. We reached out to several spokespersons at the NHS, given that many have disappeared after attending what appear to be routine appointments. Said spokespeople remain unavailable for comment.

So we asked ourselves...

What the hell is going on?!!

Sidebar:
>312 disappearances since March. The number climbs each week.
>NO press coverage
>0 official investigations
>1 very nervous receptionist who said “I shouldn’t be talking to you” and hung up

We’re not saying it’s aliens. We’re just saying it’s happening. And, what's really worrying us, is that, as far as we know, we’re the only ones counting or caring.

If someone you know has disappeared without explanation, contact our encrypted tipline.

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The last time Junie was here, it was called The Dog and Whistle, and the sign outside looked like a rough painting of a farmer. Now, huge garish letters spell out THE ORBIT, and it looks a lot more... cosmic.

How long has it been like that?

Junie fights the urge to throw up, or leave, and, taking a deep breath, she pushes the door open.

Rhea is already halfway through a pint, with a packet of crisps torn open on the table. She waves at Junie and grins, and Junie forces herself to smile back.

The bar is littered with nods to the establishment's new name. Violent green coasters boast enormous shiny eyes. There are matching straws, and someone has come up with a themed cocktail menu. Junie suppresses a groan.

"You're late," Rhea says, when Juni suits down with her tomato juice.

"Sorry," Junie says, but it sounds flat and empty.

Why am I being so miserable?

Rhea, never offended by anything, is leaning forward, looking at her intently, and speaking softly.

"Seen the leak?"

Junie shrugs. "Of course. It's everywhere, isn't it? Hard not to hear about it "

"Elliot’s been foaming at the mouth about a bunch of disappearances. Says it’s all connected."

Junie snorts.

I really need to stop being a bitch.

"No offence, but doesn't he think the moon landing was filmed in Wolverhampton?"

Rhea laughed, apparently tickled by this. "Yeah, well. My brother’s a nutter, there's no denying it. But even nutters get lucky sometimes. A stopped clock and all that."

Junie sipped her drink.

"Patrick got the boot," Rhea said.

"I wondered why I hadn't seen him at work lately. Why? What did he do?"

"Nothing, that's the thing. You know he was dating Phoebe on fifth? Well, he ghosted her. Total radio silence. So she went round to his flat didn't she?"

"Really?" Junie leaned in as well, doing her best impression of an interested friend and colleague, who absolutely wasn't dreaming of being at home in bed right now... She gave herself a mental shake, and forced Radio Brain to tune back in to what Rhea was saying.

"...lights on, dog locked inside, hadn’t eaten in days. Howling like mad."

Junie frowned, and stirred her drink with a hideous alien-topped straw.

"Maybe he just moved out. Happens."

"Without telling anyone? Without taking his keys? Without the dog? Phoebe says he loved that dog more than he loved her."

"It is weird, I'll grant you," Junie conceded.

Rhea narrowed her eyes. "You’re not getting any of these symptoms, are you?"

"What, smelling burnt sugar and feeling tingly?" Junie did her best to scoff.

"Yes. Memory gaps. Time slippage. Light sensitivity."

Junie practically buried her face in her drink. "I’m fine."

Her friend hesitates, noticing the lack of an actual "no"

"Look, I’m not crazy or anything. I’m not like Elliot. All I’m saying is, whe... I mean, if they send you a questionnaire at work about any symptoms you might be having, you might want to.… Well, be a bit economical with the truth."

Junie felt like her belly was full of ice. She tried not to show it.

"You think I might... What was it? Get the boot?"

"I'm your friend, that's all. I worry about you."

"Rhe, you've never worried about anything in your life."

"I can start. And listen... Everyone else is all happy and excited that we finally have an answer, that we know we're not alone in the universe. It's an exciting time to be alive. You should start acting like it."

She's pulled her novelty alien headband out of her bag and put it on, the antennae waggling judgmentally.

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Thanks for reading!