My developer disappeared. What do I do?
Secure what you own before anything else: domain registrar, hosting, code repository, database, email sending. Then get an independent read on where the project truly stands, because "nearly done" from the last person and reality are often strangers.
The longer answer
In practice.
This week
List every credential and asset, confirm which are in your name (many will
not be), rotate what you control, and take a full backup of anything reachable.
Send one polite written request for handover; keep a copy. Do not threaten, do
not delete, do not panic-rebuild.
The independent read
Someone senior reads code, hosting and the trail, then tells you in plain
words: what exists, what works, what finishing costs versus restarting. That
read, per rescues, turns a betrayal into a
decision.
The prevention, for next time
Everything in your accounts from day one, code in a repository you own,
documentation as a deliverable, and no developer who bristles at any of that.
The ownership test is the character test.
Same rabbit hole