This latest Facebook game is becoming a nightmare for parents as it encourages teenage kids to disappear for 72 hours, without letting anyone know of their whereabouts. The game, called "Game of 72," and it is gaining popularity in France, where it first came to light, as well as in other parts of Europe and Canada.
Vanishing is the main objective of "Game of 72" and the more panic the disappearance brings, the more points a participant earns. The game has been tagged as the reason for the disappearance of a 13-year-old teenage girl in France, according to Daily Mail. Back in April, Emma had gone missing for 3 days, leaving her parents terrified. When she did return home, she refused to speak about where she has been. She only said that she was able to complete a dare for "Game of 72."
Authorities in France are alarmed hat this new craze is going to put more parents on the edge if it's not stopped immediately. However, they cannot find concrete examples of the game being played by kids online to effectively nip it in the bud, according to The Local. What the police are seeing instead are several posts from parents warning one another of the dangers of the dare.
In Britain, two girls who do not know each other disappeared at the same time one weekend. However, they returned to their homes safely by Monday. It's been widely speculated that they may have participated in the dare as well, according to Daily Express. At the moment, the police are still confirming some leads. The authorities have also arrested a suspect in connection to the disappearance.
In Canada, the Vancouver Police have yet to receive reports of cases tied to "Game of 72," according to Bustle. Over 4,000 cases of missing persons are reported in this area alone.
"To add to the workload of our obviously very busy investigators, for cases that are a prank or a game, is something we don't want to see. We have to treat every single missing person's case as if it's serious," said Brian Montague in the report. Besides, as there are no proof of the game, some say it could just be an urban legend.
As the number of case related to this game is escalating, many parenting and police sites on Facebook have been posting warnings to parents, according to Yahoo Parenting. The site also reports that they have sought a statement from the social media network but Facebook has yet to make a statement.
