Lonelygirl15

Lurker wrote:

exanimatebylove wrote:

Sami wrote:Good point about last time he saw Alex.
But Daniel talked about when his parents went missing. Not the funeral

I'm gonna assume u mean Jonas. But good point. That's kinda weird. Would they have a funeral for missing people? Probably not.

It's done more often than not when there's reason to believe they're dead (particularly when lost at sea).

The implication is Jonas hadn't seen Toby in 6 years (6 years was how long he'd said they'd been missing back in his Thanksgiving video).

Wouldn't they wait for a year or so before having a funeral?

I serioulsy think we need the "nanny" to come into the picture.

In "Cast Away" the people had a funeral for Tom Hanks' character where they put photos or things that reminded them of that person in a coffin and then buried that...don't know if that's universal though. And yeah I do think they wait a year or some period of time before pronouncing them dead

Sami wrote:Wouldn't they wait for a year or so before having a funeral?

Why would they do that?

colbertnationgirl wrote:

Sami wrote:Wouldn't they wait for a year or so before having a funeral?

Why would they do that?

incase they are not dead...

Or maybe Toby was lying. We have no proof that he really is Jonas' cousin. I got the impression that his aunt was his only family.

freakish wrote:

colbertnationgirl wrote:

Sami wrote:Wouldn't they wait for a year or so before having a funeral?

Why would they do that?

incase they are not dead...

If a person simply disappears on land in the US, for no reason, he or she can be declared dead by a judge after 7 years. If people are lost at sea, they don't have to wait a year to hold the service. If there's a boating accident, even if the bodies aren't recovered, the people are still declared dead and the memorial is held fairly quickly. If there is no radio contact with the yacht, no GPS signal, and search parties can't find them, then it would be a matter of whenever the authorities in country which has jurisdiction gives up and says they are dead. I'm not sure of the procedure if people are lost in international waters, but again, a year's waiting period would be unnecessary if a ship or boat went down with all hands on board.

Here in the Bay Area, people disappear in boating accidents on a regular basis. The strong currents of the Bay sweep the bodies out to sea. There is no waiting period for the service, just because the body isn't recovered. People use the terms "funeral" and "memorial service" interchangeably in speech.

People have traditionally buried coffins full of bricks when a people are lost at sea. I personally don't get it, but that's the tradition. I think photos and mementos make a little more sense, if you feel the need to bury something. I would as soon skip the expense of a coffin and vault--thousands of dollars! Donate it to charity, or the victim's children's college fund. Sheesh! Should I be lost at sea, a simple plaque will suffice. And maybe a thread here... Whatever happened to that girl Sappho?

its kind of weird that jonas' parents would go sailing around the world and leave him home alone

freakish wrote:its kind of weird that jonas' parents would go sailing around the world and leave him home alone

Unless they were actually departing for a dangerous mission?

Sappho said a person can be declared dead after seven years. What if the funeral was recently. Like just before Jonas started posting videos.

Remember that guy from Manic Street Preachers? He was gone like ten years before he was declared dead.

Sami wrote:Sappho said a person can be declared dead after seven years. What if the funeral was recently. Like just before Jonas started posting videos.

Remember that guy from Manic Street Preachers? He was gone like ten years before he was declared dead.

You don't have to have a person declared dead after seven years. You can wait longer before petitioning the courts. Seven is the minimum. Also, even if the person isn't declared legally dead, the family could still have a private service to provide closure.

But Lass is the lawyer around here. Maybe she can tell us? Lass?

freakish wrote:its kind of weird that jonas' parents would go sailing around the world and leave him home alone

Jonas had a nanny, so he wasn't alone.

The families of people who died in the World Trade Center held funerals, even when they had no bodies (or even pieces of bodies) to actually bury.

I was wondering when you think the funeral took place.

Sami wrote:Sappho said a person can be declared dead after seven years. What if the funeral was recently. Like just before Jonas started posting videos.

Sappho was talking about a disappearance on land, though (one with no known accident or disaster involved), with the seven years. When people disappear at sea (or in an event like the World Trade Center disaster), different rules apply.


I'd say the funeral probably happened within weeks. Waiting any longer would just be delaying closure - you'd know they wouldn't be coming back.