We understand this is an urgent and frightening situation. We want to help as much as we possibly can.
Contact the Authorities First
If you believe your family member is missing, please contact your local police or relevant embassy before reaching out to us. We work directly with law enforcement in these situations, and having an open case already in place allows us to act faster and share information that our privacy policies would not otherwise permit us to share.
Then Reach Out to Us
Once you've been in touch with the authorities, please contact our Trust and Safety team through Settings → Trust and Safety. Include as much of the following as you can:
- A link to your family member's Couchsurfing profile
- Their full name
- Any email addresses associated with their account
- Their home location or any locations they may have listed on the platform
- The name of the police department or embassy you've already contacted
With this information, we can review their account activity, including any recent contact with other members or arrangements to stay with a host.
Emergency Contact
If your family member added an emergency contact to their Couchsurfing account, our team may be able to reach out on their behalf.
If you have a family member who travels, encourage them to add an emergency contact before they go. It takes less than a minute and can make a real difference. They can set it up under Settings → Emergency Contact.
One Thing to Know: Due to our privacy policies, we can only share member information with law enforcement and, where applicable, the member's listed emergency contact. We are not able to share account details directly with family members who contact us. We know that's hard to hear, and we're sorry we can't do more outside of those boundaries.
Need more help? Get in touch. You can also reach us anytime through Settings → Contact Support.