what can you do as someone who knows someone else dealing with having amissing child? i think the most important thing is to help them stay calm and get enough rest. its goign to be hard i cant imagine any parentbeing able to sleep well knowing their child is gone, but i think that keeping up your strength to get through this is really important so they can focus on what to do , the last thing they need is to fall sick because they havent eaten enough (loss of appetite) or havent had enough sleep!

any other tips of what you can do to help support someone else going through something like this?

I agree with that We should comfort them and let them calm down...
As an outsider we can also contact some of our friends so that they are aware of it.
We can also help them for some phone calls that they need.

Well ,that all sounds nicey,nicey, but truth is if it were you, you would be looking or trying to find your loved one, in any situation. Yes, all that stuff is important,but as a parent, you would do what ever it takes to try and find you child. You would be your own investigator. Because nobody knows your child like you do.

As an outsider...lets encourage them to fight with their loveones, encourage them not to loose hope...

We could pray for them, because prayer is very powerful...
We could also help them to do their works, like some telephone calls, and other things

What is your deffinition of "an outsider"?

out·sid·er Audio pronunciation of "outsider" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (out-sdr)
n.

1.
1. One who is excluded from a party, association, or set.
2. One who is isolated or detached from the activities or concerns of his or her own community.
2. A contestant given little chance of winning; a long shot.

This is actually a good question because in this type of tragedy, everyone is going to be an outsider to you. I had a friend whos daughter went missing, she was 5 yrs old, I remember the feelings of agony I felt for her, and I remember watching her go through the motions with the police, I remember having our house searched and us being questioned about the last time we saw the child etc etc.
Then I remember being questioned about did I think her parents were good etc etc.

This stuff makes everyone an outsider to you, especially if your child is missing.

We were lucky, because the little girl was found, while it was nap time at her house, her dad came over and picked her up - he didn't call my friend right away to say hey I got lauren. All that mess could have been prevented if he went in and woke her up but anyway... my point is, in cases like this, who is an outsider?

I don't think that there is anything that you can really do to ease this persons pain while they search for their loved one. I would say that the best thing is just to make yourself available for anything that they may want you to do.

hi,
No one can give support a mother whose child is missing.No words can make her happy.Just think about that mother who has missed her only child? I think she should keep engaged herself in different types of work.

As an outsider I think that the only thing you can do is be there when the family needs you, don't overcrowd them it will just make the situation worse.