But the key part of this section is: they have no idea where their funder is.
Their only source of funding is missing. They can't contact them, and haven't been in contact with them for over a month. I have no idea if they have mutual friends who could have contacted them, I have no idea if they've done any kind of wellness check, but what we know is that their funder and long time friend is totally missing, not possible to contact, and they aren't sure whether they're even alive or dead. Unlike the last no-payroll scare, there isn't a quick solution to getting more money in the bank.