Why did the Fellowship scatter so chaotically at Parth Galen?

Question

In the book Fellowship of the Ring, when the Fellowship is camped at Parth Galen above the Falls of Rauros, Frodo walks off alone to decide what to do next. Boromir slips off after Frodo and tries to steal the Ring. Frodo puts the Ring on and disappears; Boromir returns to the rest of the group and says that Frodo vanished. Aragorn suspects that Boromir isn't telling the whole story, but doesn't know exactly what Boromir is leaving out (though he may have a pretty good idea of what really happened).

The group immediately splits up without any attempt to coordinate their efforts, and everyone goes running off in different directions. Gimli and Legolas run one way; Sam another, Merry and Pippin go off in a third direction, and finally, Aragorn steps up and tries to impose some semblance of order to the search, instructing Boromir to go after Merry and Pippin while he chases Sam. He actually overtakes Samwise, and tells Sam to follow him, but Sam realizes that Frodo plans to leave the Fellowship on his own, and runs after Frodo.

As a result of this disorderly dash into the woods, Boromir is killed (but after all, the whole mess is his fault), Merry and Pippin are captured, Legolas runs out of arrows, and Sam and Frodo slip away alone. This is a catastrophic outcome, especially for Boromir (and later, for Minas Tirith, whose defense is ineptly overseen by Boromir's father, now mad with grief).

Why did the Fellowship split up and sprint off in different directions? The hobbits can be forgiven for panicking, since they don't know any better, but Gimli is a hardened warrior and Legolas is a fairly experienced warrior who is also an elf, and therefore supposedly very wise. Their behavior seems especially out of character and short sighted.

The only explanation I can think of is that the fact that Frodo used the Ring has something to do with it - specifically that the Ring itself made everyone freak out, but I have no evidence to support this theory.

Is there some canonical explanation for the Fellowship's surprising, ill-advised, and reckless behavior in this situation?

I'm hoping for an answer other than "They were worried about Frodo", which seems to be a weak argument in my opinion - they didn't freak out this much when Frodo was stabbed in Moria, or near Weathertop, or at any other time - even when Gandalf fell. However, I will accept whichever answer is most convincing

Answer 1

Moria and Parth Galen are different situations - Frodo was injured in Moria, but not separated from the party.

The rush at Parth Galen was to find Frodo - and the young Hobbits have already demonstrated on a few occasions that they have not got an abundance of common sense. There had already been friction over the direction of the Fellowship from where they were camped, particularly with Boromir wanting to take the ring to Gondor, Aragorn desiring to visit the city but aware of the Fellowship's true quest, and Frodo's awareness that he needs to get the ring to Mt Doom sooner rather than later.

There's even more friction from other factors like Boromir coveting the ring, and Frodo is starting to feel some force (either Sauron or the ring) - and this is affecting the whole group.

So, when Boromir turns up to say that Frodo has vanished, it is little wonder that the Hobbits dash off in multiple directions. As for Gimli and Legolas - they have probably also been affected by the general malaise, and Aragorn has let his doubts taint his leadership of the Fellowship - probably just enought for Gimli and Legolas to just act without co-ordinating.

So it's only Boromir, who has finally realised the weakness of his pride, that defers to Aragorn's leadership.

Answer 2

In Moria they were fighting in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and Frodo's just been stabbed. They were saddened by his apparent death, but not panicked--the ring was still there and another could take it up as the new Ringbearer, as Sam did (briefly) much later.

At Parth Galen, the Ringbearer has just disappeared, and the only one who knew where he was at the time or has any idea why he disappeared has clammed up about it. Frodo and the Ring could be anywhere nearby, easy pickings for a pack of orcs or whatnot--and they had reason to worry. They knew orcs patrolled the other side of the river at least, they thought Gollum may have followed their trail, and Aragorn had a sense of foreboding about a coming shadow and threat.

So at that point their mission (and the fate of Middle Earth itself) was in immediate danger of failing. It's no surprise that they scampered off into the forest in desperate pursuit of Frodo, without much thought to organizing their search.