I just read the story of your boy, that is heartbreaking. How long did you search? It has been 3 months for us now, and we are still searching, I know Bandit is out there somewhere, and I know he wants to come home, but he is just too scared to think straight. My Bandit actually ran from my parents home, they were taking care of him for me for the weekend so I could go visit my daughter. They only had him a couple hours, it was weird, he has been there many times before and loves it there, they give him more treats than he gets at home! And they treat him so good, it was definitely not carelessness, it was a weird fluke.
Actually I got a call last night, a woman that works in a nursing home in Falmouth saw a dog 5 minutes before she called me, on her way to work. She said there has been a dog roaming the area for the past year (I would like to know who's that is or if it's a stray!) so she wasn't sure if it was that one or mine. I went out, couple other people did too, and I did set a trap but got a very freaked-out cat.
I read that you said it is draining on body and mind, and that is so true. I am exhausted, but keep on going.