Alex Gumm, a 24-year-old musician from North Berwick, Maine, vanished in late February 2018 after traveling alone to the island of Kauai, Hawaii. He arrived on the island on February 22 and was last seen at a hostel the same day. Since then, there has been no confirmed contact, no bank activity, and no verified sighting.
Family members say he left Maine without clearly informing them of his plans. In the weeks and months before the trip, they noticed a sharp change in his behavior.
He adopted a vow of silence with some relatives, shaved his head, withdrew from friends, and showed an intense interest in spirituality and solitary living.
His online searches before the trip reportedly included topics such as foraging and survival skills, which has led investigators and family alike to consider the possibility that he intended to live off-grid.
After a single night in a hostel on Kauai, he checked out and tried to arrange transportation. That ride never arrived, and he was not seen again.
Phone records show his device stopped being used soon after his arrival, and financial records indicate no withdrawals or account activity after he landed.
Those unexplained gaps prompted his family to file a missing persons report and to travel to Kauai to join searches of beaches, trails, and remote valleys.
Local authorities and private searches followed. A private investigator was hired, friends and volunteers mounted searches, and social media campaigns were used to keep the case in the public eye.
Investigators on the island listed him as a missing person and asked the public for tips. Early reported sightings surfaced, but none were verified, and none produced reliable leads.
Several scenarios remain possible, and none have been proven. One common theory is that he chose to disappear and live off-grid in Kauai’s remote interior.
The island contains dense valleys and rugged terrain where someone intent on avoiding contact could remove themselves from view for an extended period.
Another plausible explanation is that he suffered an accident or exposure in remote terrain or along the coastline, and the elements kept him from being found. Authorities have not publicly announced any evidence of foul play.
Those who knew him describe him as creative, introspective, and deeply focused on music. He performed under a stage name at times and had spent periods living in larger cities before his trip to Kauai.
Friends say he was searching for meaning and that his decision to travel alone reflected a growing impulse to break with his former life.
Investigators and family members have emphasized how difficult it is to search certain parts of Kauai and how fleeting unverified leads can be.
The island’s geography and limited cell coverage complicate searches and make it possible for someone to go long periods without detection. That reality has left the family with few answers and has driven ongoing appeals for information.
The case remains open. Law enforcement continues to accept tips and to review leads, though no confirmed trace of him has been recovered.
The family periodically renews public appeals in hopes that new information will surface. Online memorial pages and fundraising pages established to support search efforts remain active and serve as hubs for updates.
Anyone with credible information about Alex Gumm’s whereabouts is asked to contact local authorities or the island police. For tips related to his disappearance, contact the Kauai Police Department through their public tip line.
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