If your child is missing, you want them found. Safe, alive. BEFORE anyone can call you and yell you they're not.
She did say in a mumble they'd already checked with friends but it was noncommittal at best IMO. It appears Maddie wasn't maybe encouraged TO have friends, outside of school. Because otherwise that would be an exhaustive first ring search, no? 1st, known friends. 2nd, friends of friends. 3rd, friends of friends' friends 4th anyone agree may have spoken to, spoken of. Anyone with a car. A bike. A bus pass. You don't stop until you run out of ideas. You don't run out of ideas. Because if you run out of ideas, the only thing left is bad. Very bad.
SS's "and then we got the call" sits wrong. In the same way standing around waiting does.
Waiting for what?
Looked at the school (not in). So many places left! Movie theaters, high schools, malls, their own neighborhood, and the path between school and home... what if she were lying injured somewhere?
And no one checking to see if she'd made it back home?
Make that make sense.