Not sure why this bothers you. It has very clear meaning and is appropriate in majority of cases.
O/T but related to this case
Why the "endangered" tag bothers me:
1) The tag "endangered" (and sometimes "suspicious") is applied without any explanation. If there is some relevant detail that earns such a tag then tell us. Did he/she try to commit suicide in the past or leave a note recently? Did he/she runaway with some person who is known to be dangerous? The tag is used to tell the public something but there are almost never additional to tell us what or why. As such, the tag is meaningless.
2) The tag is used so frequently as to be nonsensical. If the endangered tag means more than average then its not needed. By definition half of missing people will be more endangered than average. If there is some other explanation or definition we are never told, we just know that the tag pops up with annoying frequency.
3) How is it determined that a particular case is concerning enough to be labeled with the endangered tag? Why is one person who is not where he/she is supposed to be in a more dangerous situation than another? This is never explained and without details (see #1 above) this is indeterminable.
4) Its never explained what the tag actually means even in a general sense. We are left to guess. Does it mean more than average? Is it code for something like "suicide risk"? Who knows. IMO its not even consistent within LE agencies let alone across agencies. Hence, the tag is rendered meaningless.
5) There is no evidence that it helps. IME cases/people tagged as endangered are no more likely to found, so the tag doesn't seem to be commanding additional resources or leading to better outcomes. Perhaps because of 1-4 above. Interestingly, I also don't notice that the outcomes are substantially worse. One of the two would be expected if the tag was reliable.
6) IME plenty of endangered or suspicious missing persons turn up just fine, as in this case. Every endangered person that doesn't get excess resources and turns up just fine diminishes the value of the tag.
So no, the meaning isn't clear and therefore its impossible to judge whether its appropriate in any case, let alone a majority.
All IMO. No I haven't collected any data.
