Phil Agre found January 16 2010, sort of

February 13, 2010 2:16 PM

MeFi update: Phil Agre no longer missing as of January 16, sort of.

Back in November we discussed Phil Agre having gone missing. NPR has an update from January 16. The UCLA police updated the missing persons bulletin to say "Philip Agre was located by LA County Sheriff’s Department on January 16, 2010 and is in good health and is self sufficient. LAObserved quotes UCPD as saying "he is truly not looking for communication, so we have to respect that". The NPR story also has a comment from someone involved in the search saying they are not happy with this conclusion and continue to look for Phil.

Phil is a friend to many of us on Metafilter and a pioneer in the kinds of online community we live and breathe. I hope he is well.

posted by Nelson to MetaFilter-Related at 2:16 PM (11 comments total)

For people who are curious to learn more, there is a Google Group with a little more in the way of details. The whole thing is awkward. Phil has a huge internet presence which also includes people knowing about his mental health issues. That's got to be really... problematic when you either want to or are compelled to sort of go offline. I wish him and his friends and family the best.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:22 PM on February 13, 2010

The NPR story also has a comment from someone involved in the search saying they are not happy with this conclusion and continue to look for Phil.

Unless you're someone who has a decent claim on his attention-a child, for example-that's more than a little dickish.
posted by rodgerd at 4:32 PM on February 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

The suggestion is that Phil is only safe by police standards, not friends-and-family standards.
posted by anotherpanacea at 5:01 PM on February 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

There is also a facebook group Fans and Friends of Phil Agre, fwiw.
posted by fish tick at 5:19 PM on February 13, 2010

Thanks for the tip, Jessamyn. It is very awkward and I think all the public speculation and opinion is unlikely to be helpful. I'm just glad to hear he's "in good health and self-sufficient".
posted by Nelson at 6:53 PM on February 13, 2010

Good news! Now maybe they can resume their search for Spaulding Gray.
posted by grateful at 4:51 AM on February 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

not funny, grateful.
posted by scruss at 6:41 AM on February 14, 2010

The police say he is healthy and self-sufficient. Meaning, to me, that he is able to provide for himself and feed himself. So yeah, he's probably doing fine. Some people just like to drop out sometimes. I've done it, and I've had reasons to do it. In other words, maybe he just wants to be left alone?

Maybe?
posted by deacon_blues at 7:39 AM on February 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Meaning, to me, that he is able to provide for himself and feed himself. So yeah, he's probably doing fine.

Managing to exist does not equal being fine.
posted by inturnaround at 10:05 PM on February 14, 2010

If I was followed around by Internet pests insisting they knew better than me whether I was fine or not, I'd probably want to drop out, too.
posted by rodgerd at 10:23 PM on February 14, 2010

I know this is Metatalk, but can we please not have this thread be a snarkfest?
posted by anotherpanacea at 5:37 AM on February 15, 2010