This morning I went to save an image and although my Pictures directory can be seen, when I click on it, I get the message that the file/directory cannot be found and my 1000's of photos have disappeared. The Trash is also empty.
output of ls -Al ~ ~/.dropbox-dist:
gary@gary-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-2nd:~$ ls -Al ~ ~/.dropbox-dist /home/gary: total 816261 drwxrwxr-x 15 gary gary 4096 May 7 2017 1-Gary -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 45274341 Apr 24 2016 1 HOUR Romantic Piano Music _ Latest Rexation Music 2016-NgBdG8VgDRM.mp3 drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2016 .adobe drwxr-x--- 2 gary gary 4096 Feb 7 2017 .android -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3546453 Nov 20 00:21 Anne-Marie & James Arthur - Rewrite The Stars [from The Greatest Showman - Reimagined]-pRfmrE0ToTo.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 114 Nov 12 2017 .apport-ignore.xml drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:28 .aptitude -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 52278 Oct 30 11:34 asia_2016.odt drwxrwxr-x 4 gary gary 4096 Sep 26 08:24 .audacity-data -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3432885 Nov 18 10:12 Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho [Official Music Video]-WXBHCQYxwr0.mp3 -rw------- 1 gary gary 144827 Mar 21 12:15 .bash_history -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 220 Nov 13 2016 .bash_logout -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 4167 May 2 2018 .bashrc -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3771 May 2 2018 .bashrc_bacxkup -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 143800005 Oct 26 06:20 Best of Shingo Nakamura 01 (2-Hour Melodic Progressive House Mix)-WYp9Eo9T3BA.mp3 drwxrwxr-- 6 gary gary 4096 Jul 28 2017 .BitwigStudio drwxrwxr-x 6 gary gary 4096 Jul 27 2017 Bitwig Studio drwx------ 32 gary gary 4096 Mar 7 15:24 .cache -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 4548453 Sep 19 2018 C+C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) ft. Freedom Williams-LaTGrV58wec.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 4122033 Feb 2 13:39 Chaka Khan - Like Sugar (Official Video)-RecY5iZn6B0.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 4038370 Oct 23 01:07 Charles J - Do You Want (Original Mix)-_q2m_8fol2U.mp3 drwxr-xr-x 5 gary gary 4096 Oct 20 20:30 Charts -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 44453932 Jan 25 2018 (Christina Perri) A Thousand Years - Sungha Jung-VKEq8HFDKwU.webm drwxrwxr-x 6 gary gary 4096 Sep 12 2017 .clamtk -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3959349 Nov 5 23:50 Clean Bandit - Baby (feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi) [Official Video]-hlznpxNGFGQ.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 4299405 Feb 26 21:39 Clean Bandit - Mama (feat. Ellie Goulding) [Official Video]-Ao3XJ-UDdzI.mp3 drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 22 2016 .compiz drwx------ 53 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:28 .config drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 19 2016 .cups drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Aug 31 2017 .dbus drwxr-xr-x 5 gary gary 4096 Jan 22 19:34 Desktop -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 25906711 Apr 1 2015 DIY Solar Ice Maker - solar powered 'off grid' ice maker - easy to set up! - use HFT panels-T9CcPZMK-bc.mp4 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3735357 Dec 7 19:35 DJ Snake - Taki Taki ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna, Cardi B-ixkoVwKQaJg.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3414885 Dec 13 00:10 DJ YANKEE X DICE AILES - LEAN ON ME-Oeya0lh9NY0.mp3 -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 25 Nov 13 2016 .dmrc drwxr-xr-x 5 gary gary 12288 Mar 21 14:36 Documents drwxr-xr-x 23 gary gary 16384 Mar 20 14:11 Downloads drwx------ 7 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:22 .dropbox drwx------ 22 gary gary 4096 Oct 19 01:05 Dropbox drwxr-xr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Mar 20 02:34 .dropbox-dist drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Dec 19 2016 dwhelper drwxrwxrwx 27 gary gary 4096 Nov 16 01:00 E Books -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 8980 Nov 13 2016 examples.desktop drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Mar 14 21:48 .FBReader -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3326749 Feb 13 09:03 Filatov & Karas - Au Au (Official Music Video) [Premiere]-06aGC9gqy1I.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 0 Nov 8 01:50 foo2zjs.tar.gz -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3064557 Oct 26 06:29 Freya Ridings - Lost Without You (Official Video)-tDPpex1wvOc.mp3 drwx------ 4 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:22 .gconf drwxr--r-- 18 gary gary 4096 Feb 17 10:53 gdalwmscache -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3037701 Nov 5 15:04 George Ezra - Hold My Girl (Official Video)-6Xlo2abddXU.mp3 drwxr-xr-x 24 gary gary 4096 Mar 19 13:37 .gimp-2.8 -rw-r----- 1 gary gary 0 Feb 16 21:27 .gksu.lock drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2016 .gnome drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Sep 30 2017 .gnome2 drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Aug 27 2017 .gnome2_private drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:22 .gnupg drwx------ 5 gary gary 4096 Mar 17 2018 .googleearth -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 57842874 Aug 19 2017 google-earth-stable_current_amd64.deb -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 57842874 Aug 19 2017 google-earth-stable_current_amd64.deb.1 drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2016 .gphoto drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Mar 13 14:33 .grsync drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Aug 31 2017 .gvfs drwxrwxrwx 10 gary gary 4096 Nov 11 05:17 Health&Exercise -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 14469661 Jun 4 2017 HouseLogix - HDMI Repair Kit Installation-IrNk85K4Zbo.webm drwxr-xr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 14:22 .hplip -rw------- 1 gary gary 344436 Mar 21 14:22 .ICEauthority -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 5303541 Oct 28 22:46 JABBAWOCKEEZ x Tiësto - BOOM with Gucci Mane & Sevenn-QYU18mrBB54.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3081669 Nov 28 18:53 Jax Jones, Years & Years - Play (Visualiser)-HuIrr-qJ_UQ.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3417189 Oct 20 19:22 Jess Glynne - Thursday [Official Audio]-D-F9h6lu7fQ.mp3 drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Feb 14 09:41 .john -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3356045 Jan 12 02:57 KARA MARNI - Love Just Ain't Enough (Official Video)-73hvZ77fzFM.mp3 drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 4 00:19 .kde drwxrwxr-x 6 gary gary 4096 May 10 2017 kdenlive drwxr-xr-x 4 gary gary 4096 Feb 25 2017 .lastpass drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 13 2016 .local -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 5141581 Oct 3 2015 Los del Rio - Macarena (DJ Dero Latin Piano Remix)-QqoBwPstEPk.mp3 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 44708 Oct 20 2014 lsb-core_4.1+Debian13+nmu1_amd64.deb -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 20330 Oct 20 2014 lsb-invalid-mta_4.1+Debian13+nmu1_all.deb -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 19968 Oct 20 2014 lsb-security_4.1+Debian13+nmu1_amd64.deb drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2016 .macromedia -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 254 Sep 3 2017 Mama's Guesthouse & Restaurant.desktop drwxrwxr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 14 21:32 .masterpdfeditor -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 10525544 Sep 8 2017 master-pdf-editor.deb -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 4173132 Oct 29 01:02 MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This-otCpCn0l4Wo.mp3 drwxrwxr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Jan 16 2018 media -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3187725 Dec 10 13:31 Meek Mill - Going Bad feat. Drake [Official Audio]-T3lKEb0Cs94.mp3 drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 May 6 2017 Movies drwx------ 5 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2017 .mozilla -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 186033 Mar 9 2017 mozilla.pdf drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 4 07:11 mpd-configure drwxr-xr-x 8 gary gary 4096 Nov 7 23:30 Music drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 1 00:30 .nano drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Mar 20 14:16 .opencpn drwxr-x--- 6 gary gary 4096 May 10 2017 .openshot drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 1 01:25 openvpn-ca -rwxrwxr-x 1 gary gary 36406 Nov 1 19:11 openvpn-install.sh drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Jul 27 2017 .oracle_jre_usage -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 244043475 Jan 11 13:11 Our annual Kingston drone montage is here! We made this for you fellow Kings...-543481986168357.mp4 drwxr-xr-x 4 gary gary 4096 Mar 21 12:16 .pcloud drwxr-xr-x 7 gary gary 4096 Nov 1 06:31 pCloudDrive -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3590511 Mar 19 10:39 Pink Panda Love It Like That feat Nyanda (Extended Mix) By Michael Sharre-juawBq4gdkQ.mp3 drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 18 2016 .pki -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 2667261 Oct 27 23:20 P!nk & Willow Sage Hart (P!nk’s Daughter) - A Million Dreams_A Million Dreams (Reprise)-V1weVGUmNTA.mp3 -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 655 Nov 13 2016 .profile drwxrwxr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Mar 15 2017 projects drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 13 2016 Public drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Jul 29 2017 .putty drwxrwxr-x 8 gary gary 4096 Feb 17 10:53 .qgis2 drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Dec 3 21:40 Recordings -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 1088 Feb 14 2017 Release.key drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 19 00:26 .remmina -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 1516 Sep 9 2017 .ripperXrc -rw------- 1 gary gary 1024 Nov 1 00:48 .rnd drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 2 08:07 .rpmdb -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 3863109 Oct 28 19:07 RUN-DMC, Jason Nevins - It's Like That (Video)-TLGWQfK-6DY.mp3 drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 4 04:48 sambashare drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 19 2016 .sane -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 98 Apr 7 2017 .scdl.cfg drwx------ 6 gary gary 4096 Dec 10 2017 .Skype drwxr-xr-x 8 gary gary 4096 Dec 2 19:48 snap drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Sep 13 2017 sophos-av drwx------ 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 22 2017 .ssh -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 0 Nov 14 2016 .sudo_as_admin_successful -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 46848618 Oct 5 17:50 teamviewer_i386.deb drwxr-xr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Nov 13 2016 Templates drwxrwxrwx 4 gary gary 4096 Jan 6 2016 Thai drwx------ 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 21 2016 .thumbnails drwx------ 6 gary gary 4096 Oct 18 08:41 .thunderbird -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 242 May 16 2017 to_do_list_apr2017 -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 29950518 Aug 2 2018 'Touch' composed by Mattia Cupelli-ks8UqM0MLTY.mp4 drwxrwxr-x 16 gary gary 4096 May 30 2017 TV drwxrwxr-x 3 gary gary 4096 May 9 2018 usr drwxrwxr-x 4 gary gary 4096 Feb 3 19:45 .ViberPC drwxr-xr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 27 03:13 Videos -rwxrwxr-x 1 gary gary 114 Jan 14 2018 vpnbook drwxrwxr-x 2 gary gary 4096 Jan 14 2018 VPNBook -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 28 Jan 14 2018 vpnkill -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 168 Mar 16 09:19 .wget-hsts -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 31180312 Aug 1 2017 whatsapp.deb drwxrwxr-x 3 gary gary 4096 Nov 21 2016 Windows Programs drwxrwxr-x 4 gary gary 4096 Mar 11 21:24 .wine -rw------- 1 gary gary 216 Mar 21 14:22 .Xauthority -rw-rw-r-- 1 gary gary 131 Feb 4 07:28 .xinputrc -rw------- 1 gary gary 82 Mar 21 14:22 .xsession-errors -rw------- 1 gary gary 1256 Mar 21 14:14 .xsession-errors.old /home/gary/.dropbox-dist: total 20 -rwxr-xr-x 1 gary gary 101 Mar 20 02:34 dropboxd drwxr-xr-x 6 gary gary 12288 Mar 20 02:34 dropbox-lnx.x86_64-69.4.102 -rw-r--r-- 1 gary gary 8 Mar 20 02:34 VERSION $ cat ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs # This file is written by xdg-user-dirs-update # If you want to change or add directories, just edit the line you're # interested in. All local changes will be retained on the next run # Format is XDG_xxx_DIR="$HOME/yyy", where yyy is a shell-escaped # homedir-relative path, or XDG_xxx_DIR="/yyy", where /yyy is an # absolute path. No other format is supported. # XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/Desktop" XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/Downloads" XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR="$HOME/Templates" XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR="$HOME/Public" XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="$HOME/Documents" XDG_MUSIC_DIR="$HOME/Music" XDG_PICTURES_DIR="$HOME/" XDG_VIDEOS_DIR="$HOME/Videos" 
