Mourning the Unfound: How We Can Help

In disaster situations, there are often those who are reported missing, people who are unaccounted for, or whose remains are not confirmed. For each of these situations, there are mourners who lack the physical confirmation of a death. For those who “mourn the unfound” there may be a protracted period of grief complicated by the lack of confirming evidence of their loss. This article explores rituals surrounding death—rituals deprived of the mourners of the unfound—and suggests interventions that may be helpful to those struggling with this type of loss.