We had a host post here a while ago about guests who disappeared and never checked out, leaving their luggage behind. The host was conflicted at the time about reporting it to the police. At the time of the post I agreed with responses that said to not report. Then I saw this sad story recently and realized how important it is to do so:
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What a terribly sad story. The headline makes it sound like intentional homicide, but the article sounds like they may have gotten lost and resorted to extreme measures after exposure and hunger. Did I miss something?
Don’t police usually want to wait 24 hours before getting involved in a missing person case (at least if there’s no evidence of foul play?)
I could be making that up based on watching too many cop shows 
A first step might be asking Airbnb to get in touch with the guests’ emergency contact person. (it’s an optional part of our profiles)
Or even try contacting the guest, before contacting the police, Airbnb, and emergency contacts.
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I am assuming the guest is not reachable. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a disappearance, would it? I would NOT hesitate to report it to the police if they left their belongings behind and had not checked-out.
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How horrible! It sounds to me like they knew they were going to die slowly from dehydration/starvation and decided not to suffer.