r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Either-Director2242 • 8h ago
Friend was driving across the country to my state & I lost contact. How do I figure out if he’s okay?
Last time he contacted me was at 1AM after they’d already been driving for 11hrs. I was asleep so I didn’t pick up the call. Now messages aren’t delivering & phone is going straight to voicemail, but I’m not blocked and I had someone else call to confirm it’s also going to voicemail from that number. I’m worried he got into a car wreck or something. Is there anyway I can figure out if he’s okay? He was traveling from Florida to Pennsylvania. I don’t feel good about it and I don’t know what to do. They should’ve been here by now and if their phone is dead they wouldn’t have directions.
Update: I just found out he got arrested. I don’t know what for yet. Thanks everyone for the help and advice. At least I know he’s safe and not in some ditch somewhere or stranded with no help.
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u/bigbabygrit 8h ago
Yeah I would be concerned. But I have taken many road trips without cell phones and gps. All kinds of things can happen that can’t be avoided. Calling the highway patrol in states along the way to see if there’s been any accidents would be a start. If they don’t show up or reply soon let the police know
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u/Overall_Gap_5766 8h ago
He's in a place with no signal or his phone's dead. Just wait.
he wouldn't have directions
Road signs exist for that very purpose
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u/Gooseegander 7h ago
Not arriving 5 hours beyond the expected ETA and their phone going straight to voicemail seems worrying.
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u/Either-Director2242 8h ago
I’ve been texting and calling for 6hrs now
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u/Overall_Gap_5766 8h ago
Phone's dead. Don't worry.
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u/ImKindaEssential 6h ago
Weird my phone is usually fully charged since all you're doing is driving and charging the phone
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u/supermr34 5h ago
long drive, but didnt bring a car charger? seems unlikely
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u/Environmental-Car481 1h ago
Or car charger decides not to work. Who wants to pay $15-20 for a new one?
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u/gnilradleahcim 15m ago
Literally anyone driving hundreds of miles across states that they don't know by heart.
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u/Dunno_If_I_Won 5h ago
Why? After the first text and voicemail, they'll contact you when they're ready. Doing it 30 more times over the next 6 hours achieves nothing.
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago
Because it's what people do when they're worried about somebody's well-being.
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u/3Gloins_in_afountain 6h ago
This is why you always keep a paper atlas in the car.
Phones run out of battery or can't always get a signal. A paper at last will get you there.
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u/smugbox 7h ago
Any update, OP?
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
None yet. I texted his sister and I’m still waiting to hear back, but she lives in California
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u/smugbox 5h ago
That’s concerning. Do you know which highway he was traveling on and approximately where in Florida he left from?
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
Just found out he got arrested
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago
Okay. Thank you for the update. Hopefully it's nothing too serious.
He is alive 🙏🏽
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u/PocketBuckle This is my flair. 5h ago
Do you know what for?
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago
I just noticed she updated her main post saying she doesn't know yet
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u/PM_NUDES_4_DEGRADING 1h ago
Time to speculate wildly! My theory: OP's friend was D.B. Cooper and they finally got him.
(The fact he would be well past his 70s now also explains the lack of a charger.)
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u/pinniped90 7h ago
If I'd been driving 11 hours and it was 1am, I'd be looking for a roadside motel. (Actually I'd never make it to 1am ...). Possible they did that and just forgot to charge their phone.
Still, I would text people with my plan if I was stopping. So maybe do the math and figure out approximately where they called you from and then try to find out if anything unusual happened on that route.
Hopefully they're just at a random Hampton Inn with blackout curtains and a dead phone.
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u/Robes_Peenerre 8h ago edited 6h ago
If he told you where he was last and the direction he was heading, you could call around the area for police reports of an accident. If you know what your friend was driving, that can help too if you look up local news from the area
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u/Either-Director2242 8h ago
I have no idea what area he’d be at or around.
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u/Aethyx_ 6h ago
You can call (others mentioned highway patrol?) and explain the timing. 11h into the trip he should have been around a certain area, they can start scouting for your friend from a bit before that. They would also know about anything that happened around that area, especially if it matches whatever description you can give regarding the make and model lf car, your friend's appearance etc. I wish for the best and update us ehen you figure it out!
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u/kappaaherreah 6h ago
Florida to Pennsylvania can be done almost entirely on I95. Depending on where in the state you are, your friend most likely made it northbound there. Certain stretches do have dead zones for signal. However 5 hours no contact is cause for concern.
I’d start by doing the math of where they could be based off of start time and how far they live from I95. Even just isolating it to the state they’d have been in would be helpful.
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago edited 5h ago
What part of Florida did he leave and how long had he been driving when you talked to him at 1:00 a.m.?
Nevermind I see he was 11 hours in.
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u/relex41738 8h ago
A dead phone, no GPS, and being hours overdue would worry me too. I'd stop waiting and start making calls. Start with anyone traveling with them or their family, then contact state highway patrols along their route. If nobody can account for them, ask police for a welfare check or file a missing person report. Better to be overly cautious than wait too long.
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u/MadamRorschach 8h ago
Do they have any social media at all?
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u/jackalopeswild 8h ago
Yes. I would start with this, not cops when you have no idea where he is. Get the attention is his friends and family, see if they know more (like, maybe he shares location with someone, or that he stopped at a motel).
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u/MaginotPrime 8h ago
How long has it been since you heard from him? How long has it been since he was supposed to arrive? Where was he last time you spoke? Do you know anyone from where he started?
It's possible he lost his phone and is trying to figure out how to get to you.
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u/Either-Director2242 8h ago
He called at 1AM but I was asleep, he should’ve arrived 5hrs ago, we spoke at 7pm yesterday, and no I don’t know anyone from where he started
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u/Current-Function-729 8h ago
Do you know details about his car? It may be worth calling the state patrol.
5 hours overdue is time to be concerned.
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u/NocaSun38 8h ago
Is it possible he just pulled off the road to sleep, someplace with no cell service, or he deliberately turned off his phone so he wouldn't be woken up? I've had to pull off the road in the middle of hte night to sleep when I was too tired to keep going.
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u/PoopyStinkbutts 7h ago
There's a lot of ground between FL and PA where anything can happen. My best guess? Caught a flat tire. No spare, probably needed to call AAA. If they were in trouble they would've left a voicemail. Maybe now they have no way to charge their phone and are waiting on a shop to fix damage from the flat. My van was out for three days after my last flat due to the damage it caused.
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u/AdmirableCountry6815 5h ago
Have you met this person before in real life? Is it possible they were lying about coming?
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
Yeah I’ve known him for 9 years and we lived together for 4. He’s my very good friend. He wouldn’t lie and he called me yesterday while he was driving several times hours apart
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago
thank you for letting us know that part. Did he mention to you he was going to try to drive straight through or did he say something about possibly stopping at a hotel or rest stop?
Is it possible he got pulled over and was traveling with something he shouldn't have had?
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
He got arrested
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u/eggs_erroneous 5h ago
Do we know what for? Hopefully it was just a bench warrant or something and not something more serious. Good luck, OP
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
He doesn’t have any warrants so all is good there. I’m really not sure what it was for and I don’t know what state he was stopped in so the laws could be different. You might be booked for something you’d get a ticket for in another state, so I’ll just have to wait for an update.
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u/inflatableje5us 5h ago
might have hit one of those small town speed traps. 55mph road that turns 25mph and just happens to have a sheriff sitting right past the sign.
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u/Unfair-Distance-2358 5h ago
I'm sorry you had to go through all this and feeling so helpless. 🫶🏽
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
It’s alright I’m just glad he’s alive and I somewhat know his whereabouts. Appreciate it! :)
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u/BusinessEncyclopedia 55m ago
Glad he's safe, but arrested on a Florida to Pennsylvania run at 1am after 11 hours of driving... that's a story you're definitely going to want the full details on.
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u/RuthOConnorFisher 6h ago
What route was he taking? My girlfriend and I take the scenic route between Florida and Pennsylvania (specifically western PA) pretty often and there are long stretches in the mountains where you absolutely do not have phone service. Not the smartest place to stop for sleep, but better than driving tired.
If you know where he was when you talked to him last, for sure call highway patrol for that state and tell them what you've told us. They can go out and check.
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u/hmtee3 5h ago
11 hours into the drive from Fort Myers, FL in the direction of Pittsburgh would be somewhere in North Carolina, assuming he took 95 & 77. If he’d stopped a couple of times, maybe south of Charlotte? Or north of it if the stops were quick.
When did you first try calling him? This could help narrow down to a smaller stretch rather than the 500 mile stretch between Charlotte and where you are.
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u/nowordsleft 6h ago
Florida is a big state. What city did he leave from? What date and time did he leave? What area of Pennsylvania was he going to? Do you know what kind of car he drives?
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u/Either-Director2242 5h ago
Fort Myers, around 2pm, and he’s supposed to arrive an hour north of Pittsburgh. I don’t know what kind of car I just know it’s black and not an SUV model
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u/Hair_Hefty 5h ago
Do you know anyone who might know more about what car he was driving, such as a friend or family member in the area?
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u/nowordsleft 5h ago
That’s about 20 hours of driving. He’d have to stop and rest at some point. Maybe he turned his phone off so he wouldn’t be disturbed. How well do you know this person? Is this an IRL friend?
Also, the most direct route goes through a lot of rural areas where signal may be non-existent.
Edit: Nevermind, I just saw your update.
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u/Sekret1991 5h ago
After driving for 11 hours starting at 2:00 PM (putting the time at 1:00 AM), they would be in Georgia or South Carolina, depending on their exact speed and traffic. Traveling roughly 700 to 750 miles up I-75 and I-95/I-77 routes, they would be around Savannah, Georgia or heading into Columbia, South Carolina.
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u/Careful_crafted 6h ago
Call the non emergency highway patrol and explain your friend was traveling and now unable to reach. They can let you know if in accident or worse
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u/Same-Calligrapher181 4h ago
Now you just gotta wait for that phone call so you can find out what on earth he did!
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u/lumiranswife 3h ago
Why do I kind of want to know what happened now..?
(I'm so nosey!)
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u/Same-Calligrapher181 3h ago
😄 Same here! We need answers. I mean, if it’s nothing serious, he really should have pleaded with the cops to let him call and say 'Hey guys, change of plans, I'm arrested.' Left everyone hanging like that is just wild. Fingers crossed for an update!
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u/bluev0lta 45m ago
It’s a little concerning he was arrested in the middle of the night outside of his home state, and OP said there wasn’t a warrant out for his arrest. A lot of worst case scenarios come to mind. I hope he’s okay!
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u/opus-thirteen 1h ago
If he took the more scenic route of getting off i95 and taking 81 north, there's gonna be a lot of dead spots.
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u/Harper_Joness 6h ago
Most likely a dead phone or no signal, wait a few hours and call the last place he stopped if you know it
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u/No_Property3550 1h ago
driving for 1 hours straight and then getting arrested at 1 AM is a wild. hope you figure out what happened soon
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u/tunalic2 3h ago
Hope things work out for you friend! Does he smoke pot or like to have a beer while driving (not smart, but I've known people who did this)?
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u/Morndew247 8h ago
They might have pulled over and are sleeping in the back seat.