How is this a witch hunt? That term implies some type of persecution, i.e., you're trying to expose and punish someone.

That's not really what's happening here. People just seem concerned by the unexplained, sudden disappearance. They're not saying he's done something wrong. If he popped up and said, "Hey folks, all good here, just busy," I think this would be done, no problem.

If you're simply trying to say it's an invasion of privacy, sure, that's an argument to make. I'm not trying to be a "grammar nazi", but that phrase has a specific meaning that doesn't apply here, IMO. I'm trying to figure out if you're simply misusing an idiom (again, IMO) or if you're truly seeing this as some type of vilification of Eric.