A Conundrum

So, let's say that there's this dude you've been hanging out with for some time that just all of a sudden disappears. You met this person online about 2 years ago, got to know him fairly well through chats, and also through hours of online gaming. You meet a few times, go see mutual friends in the area, and generally just hang out. He loans you a pricy USB headset so your gaming situation will improve. You both go from unemployment to re-employment, so the hanging-out online gets cut way back, but you still keep in touch. He gets you great deals on stuff from his workplace, and you reciprocate by sending a nice Xmas gift his way.

Then, silence. No word for over a week. You do a little digging, find he's been ill. So, you do what a friend would do, you call and email offering assistance. You hear nothing in return. OK, some people are the independent type. I lean that way myself. No worries, we'll hear from him in due course.

Except you don't. Calls go unanswered, emails ignored. Not just to you, but others in your gaming circle as well. You're kind of weirded out, 'cause there's been no evidence of extra-flaky personality in the past. You are tempted to go to his workplace, but since he's not up front in the public area and you don't know his schedule, it's not a sure thing, plus it feels a bit like stalking. So you wait some more.

Finally, almost three months have gone by, and you still don't know what the deal is. At what point do you just say, "to hell with it", send back the headset to the last known address, and quit worrying about it?

I just don't know what to do. Things like this weigh heavily on me.