their houses are still there, but i can’t find them at all. For example, marshal would be wandering for like 5 minuets and then he would disappear, he has been gone for 3 days straight, i have looked everywhere but still no luck.

I have had this happen and my guess is they must be going somewhere but who knows where because I can never find them! Then boom they'll show up after a few days just roaming the town like nothing happened.

I have never had this happen to me before. Normally, if I can’t find a villager (because sometimes they’ll be next to me but the second I need them they’re gone) I use the megaphone to call them.

If after a bit I am unable to get them to respond or it keeps saying no response I run around Mainstreet like a maniac. I check in stores and the museum. If I still can’t find them. I go back to town and check in Re-Tail. If nothing, I try the town once more.

At some point, I have always been able to locate my villager within a few minutes. If you really are checking everywhere and properly using the megaphone then yea, that’s pretty odd.

This has happened to me.. more times than I'd like.

It's always the ones I really enjoy seeing and talking to, too!

i know! it mainly happens when i get new villagers, when i first got Peanut, she did that and Marshal moved in only a few days ago and he keeps vanishing.  

They're sometimes in Re-Tail or in someone's house. Seems like they know exactly when you need them. Recently one of my villagers asked for furniture. I still like to try to make their houses look nice, so I went into Re-Tail to get it, and guess who strolls in after me?

They're good at disappearing, too. They ask for, say, a butterfly. You go until they're just out of screen to snag one, then... poof. Go mad searching that area, only to find them a really long way away. They can really move when they want to screw with you.

"I use the megaphone to call them."

I remember searching high and low for Roald, then tried the megaphone as a last resort. He came running up from no where just as I was calling, then got angry I hollered in his ears.

"then got angry I hollered in his ears"

That made me lol! I hate when they go in Re-tail, they spend hours in there

I suspect if I can't find them ANYWHERE, museum, ReTail, houses, ect.. and they've seemed to completly dissappear, then they're visiting their old home town on MainSteet or camping in another town