How to find a hidden resident (the honest answer)

Here's a genuine design gap, stated as plainly as our sources state it: if a teammate hides an NPC, you have almost no way to find them. Hidden residents are deliberately hard for Michael to locate — closets, sheds, trash cans, vehicles — and that concealment works just as well against the teammates who later need to evacuate them.

The one reported workaround

The joint's noise-reveal effect — while high, you hear noise pings from far away, revealing residents who need help (and Michael when he's near) — is the only reported way to locate an NPC someone else hid. Reported This is the cannabis mechanic behind Australia's Refused Classification; we note its function factually and leave it there (see the item page).

Beyond that: nothing. No ping, no roster screen, no "where did Dave put the mayor" button.

The real fix is process

Since the game won't help you afterward, help yourselves beforehand:

1. 01

   Call your hides. One sentence in voice chat — "gold target in the shed behind blue house" — costs nothing and is the entire solution.

2. 02

   Hide along the escape line, not away from it. A resident hidden two houses from the planned exit is retrievable under pressure; one hidden across the map is a second rescue mission.

3. 03

   Prefer Follow for gold targets when the map is calm. Hidden residents are safer from Michael but invisible to the team; escorted ones are findable (and their aura draws Michael — the trade-off is real). Max two followers.

4. 04

   Remember who unlocked what. Getting physically close to an NPC once unlocks them on your minimap for the match — the early proximity sweep pays again at evacuation time.