How to Find Someone

Searching for someone can be a difficult task, considering the huge world we live in. Even though emerging technology has shrunk the boundaries and reduced the distance between various parts of the world, it still becomes quite challenging to look for someone, especially if you have little information about his/her whereabouts. Still, no matter how difficult the task might seem, using some tact and following the right tips will make the task of finding someone much easier. What you mostly need is proper orientation and approach towards the work at hand and you are sure to get to your goal. For more information on how to find someone, read on.

How to Find Someone

Make a detailed profile of the person you're looking for, containing information such as name (first, middle, last, maiden, married, nicknames, etc), age or date of birth, old addresses, past jobs, schools, habits, likes, dislikes, any person you feel might be able to help you to get to this person, etc.
Search for the name of the person online and look for clues that suggest towards the profile you have prepared and write them down, opposite the concerned field.
If you find many names similar to the name of the person you are looking for, put quotation marks around each version of the name and plug it into major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, etc. The more variations and search engines you try, the more info you're likely to find.
In case you suspect that the person has gone to some another country, where a different language is spoken, try using major search engines that have different versions for different countries.
If you are searching for a woman, who might've married and changed her name, add 'née' in the search box, with every variation of the name. Née is a word, which indicates that the person is using their maiden name.
Another way of finding a person is using websites that exist specifically for this purpose. You can also try social networking sites such as Orkut, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
For US, search the zip code corresponding to a specific city, town or state. If you have a 9 digit zip code, it can belong to the exact block within a city or town. With the help of this, you can search directories in that area for this person. If they are not listed in that directory, call directory assistance.
Check out for the person's phone number. Plug-in his/her phone number into search engines, as it will show if it has been listed or advertised by the person on the Internet. Put the entire phone number in quotes and experiment with hyphens, periods and parentheses, to separate the numbers.
Go through organizations that the person might've joined or be associated with. It can be a hobby, church, non-profit, or professional organization. If available, ask for a copy of their membership directory and look out for the person's name there.
Interact with other people who knew the person you're searching for. Enquire about he/she last saw them or talked to them. You can also look for any personal information, like last known email addresses or phone numbers. Give your name and phone number to these people, as they may pass it on to the person you are looking for.
You can post an ad if nothing else seems to work. Ads can be given in local online bulletin boards, asking for information about the person. It should also be accompanied by your contact information. If the location of the person is unknown, but you do have information regarding his/her career, hobbies/interests, and the like, try posting on forums and e-mail lists 'listservs'. However, keep the person's privacy in mind and don't reveal any incriminate information that you know about him/her.
You can hire a private investigator to find the person, in case you are not able to do it personally. In such a case, it is the best to pay a professional for the job.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Society'