Toilet Bowl Water Missing

[Jamey]

Curiously, this afternoon my toilet bowl was out of water, although the tank was full. Taking a chance I flushed the toilet anyway. Unfortunately, the toilet bowl overflowed. I cleaned up the mess and left the usual amount of water in the bowl. I returned a short time later to see that the bowl was nearly empty again with an occasional gurgle. I waited about another half hour and the gurgle seems to have stopped now. A small amount of water remains. I am wondering if I should try flushing a second time and/or what the problem is and where the water is escaping to.

[denman]

Sounds like a plug or partial plug, not necessarily at the toilet itself.
If the plug stops a drain from getting air from the stack it will pull air and water from the toilet bowl when draining.
Fill the toilet bowl manually with water, run other drains in the house while watching the bowl level. This may help find the plug location.

[Jamey]

Thanks Denman I appreciate the reply. However, I am not sure what I am looking for when running other drains. I presume you mean that I run one sink, tub, or shower at a time and check for water level changes (up or down?) in the suspect bowl. Then that tells me that an obstruction exists at that sink, tub, or shower and I should plunge?