Getting pulled over is rarely a fun experience. Most of us expect to be asked for the usual—license, registration, maybe a quick explanation for a traffic issue.
But for one TikToker, the routine stop turned into something stranger.
What happened during her traffic stop?
TikTok user @lelaoden152 shared a photo of herself sporting an awkward smile. The photo was paired with text that read, “Gave the officer my info and he came back asking if I know I’m an active missing person.” The post garnered over 387,400 views.
She didn’t give many more details. But based on her caption—“I feel like enough time has passed to get this one off my chest LMFAO”—it seems the situation got cleared up.
Still, it left commenters with questions. How does something like that even happen?
Do people often get mistakenly reported as missing?
It’s rare, but yes—it does happen.
In one Reddit post from early 2023, a woman shared a similar experience after her family threatened to report her as missing after she moved away from them.
“I had a complicated home situation with my parents and I did all I could but this was harming my mental health too much,” she wrote. “So now my family is threatening to report me as missing.”
According to law experts, in cases like these, the best thing to do is head to your local police department and clear up the situation.
If you’re legally an adult and not in danger, officers can mark the case as resolved. But depending on how the report was filed, it might take a little paperwork.
If you’re in the U.S. and want to check whether you or someone you know is listed as missing, the Department of Justice operates a national database at NamUs.gov.
Sometimes, it’s just an unusual mix-up. But either way, it’s always a good idea to follow up and make sure the record gets updated—before your next traffic stop turns into something else entirely.
Commenters share similar stories
In the comments, users chimed in with their own run-ins with law enforcement.
“Apparently when I was a kid I was a missing person for about 4 weeks,” shared one user. “Those 4 weeks I was at my house. They never came to my house to check for me or evidence of where I’d been.”
Someone else recalled a similar moment involving a relative. They wrote, “I got pulled over about a year ago because my mom was entered as a missing person and the car was registered in her name. They’re like, ‘when is the last time you seen her,’ uhm… this morning wtf.”
And it turns out this wasn’t a one-time fluke. Another said, “HAHHA this happened to me too! turns out someone w/ the same name and birthday was missing out of Chicago!”
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