Missing sister - help me find her car?

[skwdenyer]

krisdelta said:

+1 - my thoughts with you, very eloquently put as quoted. You can only do what you can, and you’re doing more than many could or would.

I frequently have to solve seemingly-intractable problems professionally (well, not this minute, as I was also made redundant just the other day - a bit of an annus horribilis so far, including other things I haven’t written here about).

As Annette Bening’s character in The Siege says “the most committed, wins.” I am usually the most committed. I will take any opportunity, prise open any door, to get to a resolution.

The problem with my sister’s disappearance is that I have so little to go on. I would crawl over broken glass to get her back, but I can’t find where the trail starts.

If one wanted to write about the “perfect” place to go missing, one would be hard-pressed to pick a better location than Loch Doon in summer: so accessible, so apparently busy with visitors, and yet so devoid of clues, sightings and traces of her presence & filled with easy opportunities to vanish without trace.

So far the one thing I have learned with certainty is that searching an extensive area quickly at high resolution is very difficult. The Police can’t even send dogs into the undergrowth because of the fear of snakes. If a helicopter’s IR camera can’t find you quickly then it is just a hard, all-but-impossible, slog.

If I had the time, and the resources, I’d use what I know of machine learning & sensor technology, and what I’ve had to learn about drones during this process, to create low-cost, semi-autonomous search tools. I haven’t figured out the size of the market yet, of course, but it probably isn’t large enough to attract any major investment. And, honestly, thinking about that is primarily a displacement activity to take my mind off of the underlying problem.

Anyhow, thank you all again.

[LunarOne]

skwdenyer said:

If I had the time, and the resources, I’d use what I know of machine learning & sensor technology, and what I’ve had to learn about drones during this process, to create low-cost, semi-autonomous search tools. I haven’t figured out the size of the market yet, of course, but it probably isn’t large enough to attract any major investment.

Not wanting to take anything away from your thread, but I wanted to comment on the above.

I think the market for semi-autonomous or fully-autonomous search tools based on a drone platform would be immense. Every police force, military unit and SAR service, coastguard would want such a thing, and it would be useful for leisure, mining, agriculture, power distribution, roads and railways, etc. In short, If it could be made to work then I think there are many many billions of pounds/dollars/euros to be made. The market is already opening up but we haven't come close to really getting the full benefit from this technology.

[vaud]

skwdenyer said:

If I had the time, and the resources, I’d use what I know of machine learning & sensor technology, and what I’ve had to learn about drones during this process, to create low-cost, semi-autonomous search tools. I haven’t figured out the size of the market yet, of course, but it probably isn’t large enough to attract any major investment. And, honestly, thinking about that is primarily a displacement activity to take my mind off of the underlying problem..

They are in development, I'll see what I can find that is sharable/public domain. The early generations ones are quite basic but they are getting there.

Again, thoughts are with you.

[skwdenyer]

vaud said:

skwdenyer said:

If I had the time, and the resources, I’d use what I know of machine learning & sensor technology, and what I’ve had to learn about drones during this process, to create low-cost, semi-autonomous search tools. I haven’t figured out the size of the market yet, of course, but it probably isn’t large enough to attract any major investment. And, honestly, thinking about that is primarily a displacement activity to take my mind off of the underlying problem..

They are in development, I'll see what I can find that is sharable/public domain. The early generations ones are quite basic but they are getting there.

Again, thoughts are with you.

Than you. That would be interesting.

[turbobloke]

vaud said:

Again, thoughts are with you.

Mine too.

[LunarOne]

Any news OP? I'm sure if much had changed you'd have let us know, but I wondered if there was still an active investigation and any forward progress at all being made? Thoughts are with you and your family.

[krisdelta]

Thank you for bumping, this was on my mind on the weekend. Hoping for some good news.

[vaud]

OP, I saw this article the other day and remembered that you had mentioned the use of drones and AI in searches:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12694433/...

Apologies for the Mail link, but for once it seems accurate.

Thoughts remain with you.

[youngsyr]

No update as of last week.

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/23894...

[skwdenyer]

vaud said:

OP, I saw this article the other day and remembered that you had mentioned the use of drones and AI in searches:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12694433/...

Apologies for the Mail link, but for once it seems accurate.

Thoughts remain with you.

Thank you. Yes, I saw that. And yes, that's along the lines a small team of us came up with earlier in the year. I'm still deciding whether or not to do some formal work in that area.

youngsyr said:

No update as of last week.

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/23894...

Indeed not, sadly.

[Fermit]

skwdenyer. Something just made me think of your predicament. I'm sure no update RE Mary means nothing to report. Thoughts with you and your family at what must be a testing Christmas.

[skwdenyer]

Fermit said:

skwdenyer. Something just made me think of your predicament. I'm sure no update RE Mary means nothing to report. Thoughts with you and your family at what must be a testing Christmas.

Thank you very much. You're right, sadly, nothing to report, and not an easy Christmas.

[Byker28i]

Understandable - thoughts for you and your family.

[AB]

Bizarre situation having read through the thread. All the best.

[skwdenyer]

A year ago today, my Sister went missing. Today we’re no further forward: no sightings, no vectors, no remains, no end to the emotional rollercoaster or the family pain. Not helped by the untimely death of another close family member in January.

If any other PHers have suffered a loss remotely like this, you have my greatest sympathies.

Edited by skwdenyer on Sunday 16th June 20:26

[interstellar]

Sorry to hear there is no progress here. Heartbreaking.

[TownIdiot]

skwdenyer said:

A year ago today, my Sister went missing. Today we’re no further forward: no sightings, no vectors, no remains, no end to the emotional rollercoaster or the family pain. Not helped by the untimely death of another close family member in January.

If any other PHers have suffered a loss remotely like this, you have my greatest sympathies.

Edited by skwdenyer on Sunday 16th June 20:26

All the very best for the future.
Bloom's day today.
If you like reading that's something to get lost in.

[eldar]

A truly awful period of uncertainty and doubt. I hope it is resolved as positively as possible without delay.

[Randy Winkman]

All very sad. Best wishes to Skwdenyer and family. I hope that something positive for them happens at some point soon.

[sunbeam alpine]

Wow. I'm staggered that a year has passed since you started this thread. You have my best wishes.