Coping with uncertainty: The grieving experience of families of missing people

This paper describes the background to a research project on the grieving experience of families and friends of missing people. The introduction provides a brief historical overview of the experience of the early settlers in Australia through to the present day, showing it is a timeless problem here. The literature associated with the emotional impact experienced by families when a member goes missing is limited. However, attitudes to the emotional loss of such families are changing and the research seeks to 'listen to the stories' of these families so that appropriate care and support can be provided.