diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7559333a..5e7019a9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ All notable changes to vouch are documented here. Format follows
   artifact the caller could not already retrieve, and it touches no write path.
 
 ### Fixed
+- **`verify_all` / `doctor` treat missing externals like drift** (#622):
+  `vouch source verify` already marked `external_status=missing` as `!`,
+  but `verify_all`'s audit `failed` list and `health.doctor` only looked
+  for `drift`, so a deleted upstream file could leave doctor `ok: true`
+  while the CLI failed. missing now joins the failed set and emits a
+  `source_missing` warning.
 - **salience reflex excludes retracted claims**: `compute_salience` scanned
   every claim regardless of status, so the `_meta.vouch_salience` sidebar
   counted `ARCHIVED` / `SUPERSEDED` / `REDACTED` claims in `claim_count` and
diff --git a/src/vouch/health.py b/src/vouch/health.py
index cb474448..ce0269a2 100644
--- a/src/vouch/health.py
+++ b/src/vouch/health.py
@@ -313,6 +313,17 @@ def doctor(store: KBStore) -> HealthReport:
                     [vr.source.id],
                 )
             )
+        elif vr.external_status == "missing":
+            detail = f" ({vr.note})" if vr.note else ""
+            report.findings.append(
+                Finding(
+                    "warning",
+                    "source_missing",
+                    f"external file {vr.source.locator} missing or unreadable"
+                    f" since registration{detail}",
+                    [vr.source.id],
+                )
+            )
 
     # Config sanity.
     if not store.config_path.exists():
diff --git a/src/vouch/verify.py b/src/vouch/verify.py
index e4e3a887..d7244143 100644
--- a/src/vouch/verify.py
+++ b/src/vouch/verify.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def verify_all(store: KBStore, *, actor: str = "vouch-verify"
     results = [verify_source(store, s) for s in store.list_sources()]
     failed = [
         r.source.id for r in results
-        if not r.stored_ok or r.external_status == "drift"
+        if not r.stored_ok or r.external_status in {"drift", "missing"}
     ]
     audit.log_event(
         store.kb_dir, event="source.verify", actor=actor,
diff --git a/tests/test_health.py b/tests/test_health.py
index 822d8a76..f81374c1 100644
--- a/tests/test_health.py
+++ b/tests/test_health.py
@@ -59,6 +59,25 @@ def test_doctor_runs_full_sweep(store: KBStore) -> None:
     assert report.ok is True
 
 
+def test_doctor_warns_on_missing_external_file(store: KBStore, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """source verify marks missing externals as '!'; doctor must surface
+    them too (not only drift)."""
+    f = tmp_path / "doc.txt"
+    f.write_bytes(b"original")
+    src = store.put_source(
+        f.read_bytes(), title="doc",
+        locator=str(f.resolve()), source_type="file",
+    )
+    f.unlink()
+    report = health.doctor(store)
+    missing = [f for f in report.findings if f.code == "source_missing"]
+    assert missing, [f.code for f in report.findings]
+    assert missing[0].severity == "warning"
+    assert src.id in missing[0].object_ids
+    # warning-only — same posture as source_drift
+    assert report.ok is True
+
+
 def test_lint_surfaces_legacy_uncited_claim_yaml_without_crashing(
     store: KBStore,
 ) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_verify.py b/tests/test_verify.py
index fd076b2b..f3a47f55 100644
--- a/tests/test_verify.py
+++ b/tests/test_verify.py
@@ -30,6 +30,34 @@ def test_verify_detects_external_drift(store: KBStore, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert target.external_status == "drift"
 
 
+def test_verify_all_counts_missing_external_as_failed(
+    store: KBStore, tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    """CLI source verify treats missing as '!'; verify_all's audit failed
+    list must include it too (not only drift)."""
+    from vouch import audit
+
+    f = tmp_path / "doc.txt"
+    f.write_bytes(b"original")
+    src = store.put_source(
+        f.read_bytes(), title="doc",
+        locator=str(f.resolve()), source_type="file",
+    )
+    f.unlink()
+    results = verify.verify_all(store)
+    target = next(r for r in results if r.source.id == src.id)
+    assert target.stored_ok is True
+    assert target.external_status == "missing"
+
+    events = [
+        e for e in audit.read_events(store.kb_dir)
+        if e.event == "source.verify"
+    ]
+    assert events
+    assert src.id in events[-1].object_ids
+    assert events[-1].data["failed"] >= 1
+
+
 def test_verify_refuses_off_root_file_locator(store: KBStore, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     outside = tmp_path.parent / f"{tmp_path.name}-outside.txt"
     outside.write_bytes(b"secret")