15-year old Brandon Crisp of Barrie, Ontario in Canada has been missing since 3pm on October 13th, and his father believes that the boy's "Xbox addiction" is the reason.

"He left because we took his Xbox away," said Steve Crisp, Brandon's father. He says his son was losing sleep because he spent so much time playing Call of Duty, a World War II-themed shooting game. "This was his addiction."

...

"Most (runaways) return home within 24 hours after they've cooled off," said Barrie police Sgt. Dave Goodbrand, adding that the police are broadening their search beyond the Barrie area. "He could have hopped on a bus, he could have hitchhiked out there."

Although police have determined that he hasn't logged onto his Xbox since he left, they are still trying to track down anyone he might have met playing Call of Duty.

"My personal feeling is that he's met someone online through this game," said Steve. "As a parent, you fear the worst when you don't hear anything for seven days."

Brandon's parents had tried to limit his Xbox use, but it didn't work, prompting them to take the console away. "(Kids) play these games and it becomes an addiction. It becomes their whole life," he said. -- TheStar.com

The police, who have searched by ground and by air, are looking to expand the search beyond the Barrie area. Neither friends nor family have seen him since he left.

Just going by the article, it sounds like the parents might have been viewing things in very black and white terms; there's no mention of trying to reach a middle ground, such as playing less or anything, just "you're playing too much, off it goes." It leaves the question: Was it a problem with "addiction," or a problem with not meeting things halfway?

Of course, I'm only going by what's presented in the story. But suffice to say, if my parents had tried to go all-or-nothing on me, well... I certainly wouldn't have been pleased. Perhaps this could be indicative of further problems.

Here's hoping everything works out.