Authored by Suzanne Alicie in Society
Published on 07-21-2009
People tend to come and go from our lives on a regular basis. School friends, old boy or girl friends, co-workers who moved on, and even kids from summer camp could be people that you are looking for. Whether you are organizing a high school reunion or simply looking to reconnect with someone, you are not alone. There are millions of people searching for someone every day.
With all of the technology available today, finding long lost friends and family members is fairly easy to do. You will need some basic information. The more you know about a person the faster you will be able to locate them. First and last names, birthdates, schools, cities, and even family members can help with your search. Most names in the world are not unique, and there may be several people with the same first and last name as the person you are searching for. Having more information helps you narrow the search and improves your chances of finding the person you are looking for.
The first thing to do is to perform an infamous Google search. This consists of putting the persons name into the Google search engine and combing through all the instances that it is found until you find who you are looking for. Google is great if the person comes up on the first 2 or 3 pages. But it can also be like looking for a needle in a haystack if you have entered a common name and end up with over 20 pages to sift through.
Another way to find a person is by utilizing social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace. Again the more details you know about a person, such as schools they attended or places of employment, the better your chances of finding them. Classmates is a great tool for finding people that you went to school with, and it is organized by school and the years attended which can make your search a short one.
While performing these searches you should also look up people that were friends of the person. Often times even if you have lost touch with an old friend from school, someone else is still in touch with them. Put out feelers in friendly emails to as many people as you can find who may know where the person is. Word of mouth is usually quickest way to find someone.
If you know the city or state that the person lives in you can check public records to find an address for the person, or family members. Most of the time someone in the family will be able to locate the person or give you the information you seek.
If all else fails you could hire private investigator, or pay one of the many internet services to find the person for you. However, you must realize that some people are not found on the internet or elsewhere because they don’t want to be found. If you locate someone you’ve been looking for, respect their privacy and their wishes when it comes to renewing an old relationship or friendship.
