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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48411
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The real question is, at the end of the book is the reader going to wonder "_But what about …?_"?

If the character wasn't especially interesting and didn't leave loose ends, then there is no need for a reappearance. But too often, that isn't the case.

The film "[Vertigo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_(film))", suffers from this problem with the character Midge Wood, who simply disappears from the film as if she had never existed. For me it would be a better film if a few small scenes were simply deleted, such as when she spies on Scottie's apartment entrance, so that she would be less interesting and not missed.

In the novel _[Crime and Punishment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment)_, the character of police Inspector Porfiry Petrovich is even more interesting, perhaps more so than the lead character. He is someone you want to know more about and to see more of, but without explanation he simply disappears from the last half of the novel, a time when his appearance would be most expected. It isn't until a century later that he reappears on television as police detective Lieutenant Columbo.

So, yes, it _is_ acceptable for a character to disappear, but it needs to happen in a way that doesn't leave the reader expecting a reappearance that frustratingly never happens.

Original score: 2