KEY POINTS:
They're the missing. The people who disappear without a trace, leaving loved ones unsure if they're even alive. If the police can't help and private detectives are too expensive, there's another organisation willing to lend a hand - the Salvation Army.
"I believe in my heart that he is alive," says Lee White of eldest son Joshua, who disappeared six years ago after "going off the rails".
Then 20, Joshua ended up in court in Napier, where the family was living, charged with drug possession.
"His mother and I stood by him," White said. "It was just teenage hijinks. He got 12 months' supervision. Then, when we caught up with him a week later, he said he had no parents any more. He didn't want anything to do with us."
That was the last they heard of their son. "He disappeared off the face of the earth."
White has since divorced from his wife and is living in Tauranga. There have been rumours Joshua was living in the United States or Australia but there has been no news and no contact. White said he only had one photo of his firstborn son.
"I've been looking for the past six years. Every three years I go through the electoral rolls, I post things on the internet. But it's been six years of nothing. Just empty. It's probably the hardest part of the situation.
"We always racked our brains thinking - did we do something wrong, could we have done something differently? I haven't really found any answers."
Joshua is among more than 70 people on the Salvation Army's annual "Most Wanted" list of missing people.
"The list includes some of our more difficult cases, where we are having real trouble locating the people." said Major Bronwyn McFarlane, director of the Salvation Army's family tracing service.
McFarlane said people went missing for a variety of reasons. "From losing address books, to family arguments, people dying and people moving from one country to another.
"When people choose to stay missing, it's usually to do with negative family dynamics - parents disagreeing over lifestyles, arguments over money, people not feeling valued." McFarlane said she sometimes felt "like a detective" while trying to trace missing people. "We use a variety of techniques, including tips from the public, which sometimes provides the vital clue that can solve a case.
"We use public documents - electoral rolls, telephone books - and we have other avenues available to us, such as Births, Deaths and Marriages listings."
More than three-quarters of people found by the service are willing to establish or re-establish contact with loved ones.
"But it's our policy that their whereabouts is only disclosed with their consent," McFarlane said.
Two of her hardest cases involved finding people, then not being allowed to tell the families they were alive.
White said he turned to the Salvation Army as a last resort this year. "I had tried other organisations but they all wanted large sums of money. I hope the Salvation Army can get a result. They said it doesn't happen overnight. It could take months - or years."
The service registered 235 inquiries this year - the highest for six years. It traces more than 100 people each year. There was no particular age group represented among the missing.
"We are liaising at the moment with a 90-year-old person. Although, we don't normally accept inquiries for people over 100."
She said Christmas was a time when families became "very aware" of the absence of a relative. "Other times, like family reunions, celebrations and birthdays, all trigger memories and the hurt felt by somebody."
White said this time of year was particularly hard. He bought Christmas presents for his children "but one is always missing. Every Christmas and birthday comes around and we don't know whether he is alive or dead," said White.
"Both of his grandmothers have died. When his birthday rolls around I wonder, does he ever think about me? It is like he never existed."
To view the Salvation Army's Most Wanted list, visit www.salvationarmy.org.nz
