Dead for 3 years and nobody notices...If you disappeared, would anyone come looking for you?...

[HipChick]

A successful, beautiful young woman passes away and her body is not discovered for 3 years. She passed away at 38yrs old, but wasn't found till after her 41yr birthday. Her remains are discovered finally, TV still on...a documentary is being made on this. But it reminds me, how much isolation do we live in, can it happen to you?

http://madamenoire.com/119071/dead-3-years-and-no-one-notices-film-explores-the-life-and-death-of-joyce-vincent/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/oct/09/joyce-vincent-death-mystery-documentary

[treestar]

1. Wouldn't the employer notice?

Was there no one at work who cared?

I can see it happen to a single person for a few weeks or so, but three years? She must not have had contact with family?

Eventually one's mother would realize one was not calling! Maybe hers predeceased her?

[HipChick]

5. No..not from work....they would classify it as Job Abandonment and fire the person

This happened at my workplace recently - person did not return from vacation - no-one heard from them, so they classified it as job abandonment, and fired them. Afterwards, they found out that the person had died on the vacation..

[lpbk2713]

7. "Dying without permission" --- Just cause for termination.

... as the corporate overlords would see it.

[treestar]

31. lol

True.

There are ethics rules for lawyers about what to do to protect your clients in case you die. Like a dead lawyer will worry about being disbarred.

[treestar]

30. Whoah

that's harsh! One would think at least a colleague at work might wonder and call the person just to make sure they made it back from vacation or were OK and really quitting the job!

[NNN0LHI]

8. Doesn't have to be a lone family survivor either

I have witnessed some real nasty family battles over the years. The kind where brothers and sisters didn't speak for decades. Had one family in this area that went as far as half the family legally changing one letter in their last name so they weren't associated with the other half. Hated each other.

Usually the first people to notice something like this is the mailman. Can only stuff so much mail into mailbox/PO box until its full. Then I think a report has to be made somewhere?

Don

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Post behind the front door

Without junk mail, it might not mount that much. If she hadn't been there long, there might not have been much junk mail - and a housing association bedsit may not attract the unaddressed junk mail that individual houses can.

[HipChick]

16. In the UK, the Royal Mail puts the letters inside a flap on the front door..no mail box to speak of

[HipChick]

18. I admit.. I haven't spoken to my brother for 8rs...his wife is a witch

She's already told us, that if anything ever happens to him, she'll just have him buried and never tell us where his grave is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. There's a lot in the Guardian link; it sounds like she wasn't working

by this stage (though she had had steady, well-paid jobs until a few years before). Her mother died when she was 11, but it does say some family were involved in the inquest. It also mentions Christmas presents (The Guardian says 'unopened', the other link that she was 'planning to wrap' them; but either way, it implies people you have reasonably regular contact with).

The articles are still fairly hazy about details; it seems to mean the filmmaker never managed to contact the family. There is speculation that she may have been 'cut off' because of a boyfriend or the man she was engaged to at one stage; and she was in a refuge for victims of domestic violence, but there's nothing to say what or by whom the violence was. She had a full life in the 80s and 90s; she got to meet Nelson Mandela, for instance. None of her neighbours where she died knew her.

It is very strange. Maybe there's more in the film, but I'd have thought more could have been found out (if nothing else, the inquest would have had to try to work out when she died, as best they could, which should have meant tracing her last contacts as best as they could after 3 years; and what the family said to the inquest isn't specified).

[HopeHoops]

2. Not in my house. Even if I WAS dead, somebody would be expecting me to get up and do something.

[Little Star]

14. LOL! Same here! n/t

[etherealtruth]

34. Yep ... my death would not be allowed

There's too much for me to do

[gtar100]

55. Same here, except that it's because I couldn't afford it.

It just costs too much money to die in the US.

[etherealtruth]

58. That, too

[Nay]

41. Jesus, me too. When they noticed not a damn thing was getting done and they did not want to do it,

they'd come lookin' pronto. It's a sad commentary on my life.

[eridani]

46. Three reasons why Jesus was a woman

--She fed a big crowd when there was very little around to eat
--She kept trying to explain things to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
--Even after She died, She had to get up three days later because there was still more work to do.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Similar to this (very sad) story from July:

r.i.p. Kathryn Norris Kunzweiler

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1181888.ece

[hlthe2b]

4. Bill collectors...

I assume someone from work would fairly quickly...

Hopefully my friends would notice--but probably not immediately. My sister would inquire after a few days, for sure.

So, no, I don't take this story lightly. It is an increasingly unfortunate sign of where our isolationist society is headed.

RIP, young woman...

[treestar]

32. Speaking of bills, what of rent or mortgage?

I mean here the landlord would be noticing not getting the rent check or the mortgage company would start a foreclosure and in the course of that, someone would go into the place.

Somehow she had a residence that she did not have to pay for or that the creditor did not do anything about for that long.

[cleanhippie]

6. Wow. How can something like this happen? 3 YEARS and no one notices?

Hard to grasp.

[2bfree]

9. How sad.

I can't imagine that this could happen, it really breaks my heart.

No worries here, I'd be missed when supper wasn't made.

[sharp_stick]

10. We had one near home

where a woman died and was left in her home for 6 or 7 years but her kids knew about it.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5463467&page=1#.TutnDrJFudA

I'm looking forward to this documentary.

[RC]

11. 3 years and the TV is still on?

Rent, mortgage payment, bills? I call bullshit. People want their money.

[HipChick]

15. All the bills were paid via direct debit..

It might take a while to run out of money in your account

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. A housing association (ie non-profit) bedsit

so they might not be as desperate to get their money as some. She had well-paid jobs before this - many people who knew here were surprised she ended up in social housing - so perhaps she had a bank account that had enough to pay bills at first. I'm surprised there wasn't something like a yearly inspection of the bedsit just to check the basic structure; but perhaps they just write about it, and assume the occupant will reply at some time.

[HipChick]

20. In the UK, housing associations on co-ops may not exist..

She was renting...looks like a council property...and it finally went into arrears...council housing is government subsided

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. No, it was a housing association

That's specified in the Guardian article (it was them who found her, when they went in to repossess the bedsit after 3 years). It could have been this one, for instance: http://www.192.com/atoz/business/london-n22/housing-associations-societies-trusts--co-operatives/multi-link-housing-association-ltd/271c4158334238fe8ac289adea7fe26a9d3bc2f5/comp/

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

[closeupready]

19. Sad, but I imagine people die all the time unnoticed.

nt

[themadstork]

24. ex teacher of mine was dead for pretty much an entire winter before anyone noticed

but he was a pervert who sexually harassed seventh grade girls without ever being so much as reprimanded, so no one really cared.

hell you know i think i might write a story about him...

[closeupready]

33. I was thinking more in terms of homeless people or the mentally ill.

This woman got her attention because she was pretty, IMO. Not that she deserved this obscure death any more than anyone else. Just that, why don't journalists do more stories about homeless people? Anyway...

[bluedigger]

22. Sad and strange story.

Cable guy will find me when he comes to get his box back...

[Lint Head]

23. Isn't that a pre exsisting condition?

[PassingFair]

25. Three YEARS? If I don't answer my phone in three MINUTES all hell breaks loose.

Between my boss, my manager, my husband and especially
my two girls, I am CONSTANTLY accountable.

Lots of times I wish I was NOT.

[Swede]

26. Here's a link to a story of man dead for 20 years and no one noticed.

http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?31736-No-one-in-Tokyo-notices-man-dead-20-years

[WI_DEM]

27. three years of not paying rent and--how could the TV still be going after three years?

did somebody pay her electric bill? It's very sad to say the least.

[HipChick]

35. It was all paid for...by Housing Association

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4906992.stm

[ThomWV]

53. Broadcast TV in an apartment, sure, why not?

I could see it in some sort of condo or something. Guess I'll have to wait to see the documentary to see how those things came about. Around here either the evangelicals or the tax assessor would find you pretty quick.

[ellenfl]

28. only my condo assoc when i didn't pay the quarterly maintenance. eom

[dembotoz]

36. interesting

what about the smell?

here in wisconsin a jane doe was buried in a rural town not far from here.
no body ever know who she was or were she came from.

[HipChick]

38. I did notice a kind of rotten smell but the bins downstairs are strong and the stairwells smell

Michael Dobbs, who moved in in summer 2004 said: "I always thought it was an empty house. It's a shock to think that she had family and nobody came.

"It's also a puzzle how her electricity was not cut off because her TV was on all this time.

He told the paper it was a noisy building frequented by drug addicts, which could explain why no-one noticed the noise from the TV.

He said he had discovered someone dead, clutching a bottle of drink, in the lift weeks ago.

"I did notice a kind of rotten smell but the bins downstairs are strong and the stairwells smell with junkies.

"I did get a few bugs coming into my house so I had to keep the windows closed."

[JitterbugPerfume]

37. a couple of years ago

I decided on the spur of the moment to spend the night at my girl friends house WITHOUT calling any of my kids .

While I was gone my daughter tried to call me (I didn't have a cell phone then)She tried 2--3 times before she paniced and called my sisters, and her brothers and sisters. NO ONE knew where I was, so they called the police who proceeded to search my house and my property .Finally my daughter in law thought to check my phone to see who I talked to last. It was my friend Rosemary, so they called her. She said "it's for you, Midge" to which I replied "It can't be ! No one knows where I am" LOL

I no longer go anyplace without my cell phone, which they insisted that I get!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

39. This happened in my family on the east coast in the 80's,

The woman found jesus and ran off to Virginia to marry some guy, told her family she wouldn't see them again until they found jesus - this was poorly received and there was no further contact with her after about 1982. She died penniless and alone sometime in 1989 in North Carolina and was found by the gas company investigating a gas leak months later and wound up in a paupers grave. In 1995 on the death of her mother a lawyer went looking for her and learned she had been dead for six years.

It took the family two years to get her body exhumed and reburied in New Jersey.

[Curmudgeoness]

40. I worry about this myself.

At work, I have made sure that everyone knows I WILL contact them if I will not be there, and told them to worry if I don't show up and don't let them know.

But my neighbors just hide out in their homes, when they are home, and do not pay any attention to anyone.

I have sisters, but they are far from me, and we don't keep in touch often, so it could be some time before they would notice. It seems our whole family has a phone phobia, so we don't talk often.

I also have one friend who lives about 30 miles from here, and we email daily---that has always been my protection from dying here and being left for who knows how long.

Sad story and I have tried to make sure that someone will notice sooner than three years! But who knows.

[aletier_v]

45. Why worry? I don't see how it matters.

you'll be dead, what do you care if nobody finds you?

i'm okay with it.

[Curmudgeoness]

47. It just seems so sad.

You are right, I won't give a shit at that point. But really, it is just a shame to hear about.

And then there is my kitteh I have to worry about.

[Liberty Belle]

42. Sad. I've had thought a landlord, or lender would come looking if a rent or mortgage payment

was missed, even if family or employer didn't call the police.

Folks, please call the cops to ask for a wellness check if someone you know if missing.

I'm a news editor and just posted a story tonight about a missing man where the employer was the first to realize something was wrong when he didn't come to work. thanks to their prompt call his car was found at a hiking trail and there are search teams out trying to find him, with hope he may still be alive.

[aletier_v]

43. Nikki on lunaticunderground.com / godlikeproductions.com

Nikki was a transexual (man to woman) in his/her forties.

Nikki went on a vacation and committed suicide, which didn't surprise me as I'm associated with alt lifestyle.

But nobody on either site cared enough to find out why Nikki disappeared and only discovered it several months later after his ex-wife notified his email list after she received his effects, i.e. computer.

it was very sad. Nikki was well known by dozens, probably hundreds of readers.

[thescreaminghead]

44. Your creditors would notice.

I bet she got found because someone from the credit card company called the authorities in to go collect on an overdue credit card balance.

[tammywammy]

49. If you had read the articles linked

You would have read that it was because they came to evict her from her bedsit, nothing to do with credit cards.

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. once again - the TV still on. Another death not discovered for years - the TV was still one.

TVs really last!

[tammywammy]

50. Yes, I think people would notice

I know my work would, my boss would be concerned if I didn't show up to work. I talk with both my parents regularly, so they would notice.

I think the saddest part of this story is she died with Christmas presents around her. Who were those for? Why didn't anyone notice she didn't arrive at the party or whatnot? Christmas is just around the corner, I know my family would worry if I didn't show up to family events.

Very sad story, but the Guardian article points out that she may have gotten into a relationship with someone that isolated her. Very sad.

[pitohui]

51. you have an interesting definition of successful

i judge based on evidence not on what a news reporter tells me to think and if a woman is not missed by anyone for 3 years she is of course not successful, this is proof positive that it literally did not matter to anyone at all whether or not she existed at all

there was no job she did that needed done, no person who loved her that needed attention -- no one at all on a planet of 7 billion people

she may (but probably wasn't, again based on the evidence of people's actions) been "beautiful" but she was most certainly a failure

if she had LIVED those 3 years and no one came looking to give her a job or a contract or a contact or even noticed whether she lived or died, you would admit that she was a failure, i'm not saying it's her fault she was a failure, there are more people than jobs that need doing, but she was not a success

if you want to be needed, create a need, if there is nothing you can do that anyone would, ever, in 3 years, think of calling you to do, you are not a success and you need to change something

i'm sorry she's dead but it's apparent we are not getting the true story here

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. I am retiring at the end of the month, so I will have no employer to notice my absence.

I have no children and no spouse. I live alone with three cats.

They would eat me before anyone noticed I'd croaked.

[liberaltrucker]

56. You have cats??

My dream retirement. No pets where I live.
I must settle for Fark's Caturday and DU's
Sunday LOLcats. I'd be in Heaven in your
situation.

[liberaltrucker]

54. Doesn't matter to me

When I die, I'm dead. Period. I don't give a rat's ass whether I get
a royal funeral or a pauper's grave. As far as someone looking for
me, probably not. That doesn't matter, either. I'll be dead.

Game Over.

[fizzgig]

57. longest i'd sit is two days, three absolute tops

and that is only if my husband were to be out of town, which has happened once in four years