Where do people go when they're missing?

Both Momma C and my littlest person are missing. Momma B is still here, but everyone else is gone. Their smells are fading from the big-den-called-house, almost as if they were never here.

Where do people go when they're "missing"?

Do they still exist? Are they out there somewhere else, leaving their scent for other dogs to sniff?

Or do they just disappear, and then reappear one day?

What fills the empty space when they go?

And most important of all, do they miss their dogs when they're gone?