how to find someone

In this article:

find someone online

Find someone by other means

Find a missing person

References

Article summary

In the computer age, everyone leaves a digital trail. And if the person doesn't have one, well, let's look a little further. It's not hard to know how to trace back to the person you're looking for.

Method1

find someone online

Write down all the essential information about this person. Trying to find someone using just their name will likely result in a search that is too broad. Target your search further by including information such as:

• name and nickname

• age and date of birth

• schools attended

• hobbies, preferences, sports teams (especially at school)

• The places of work

• old addresses and phone numbers

• friends, family members and neighbors

Look for variations of the person's name or nickname. Whenever you find a page or index that offers another part of the profile, note it in the profile. For example, you might find an “Albert Dupont” mentioned in a newspaper in Île-de-France and a “Béatrice Lamont” in a Nantes brochure. Note these two places in the profile with question marks. If you find another indication that the person with this name is in one of these places, put a cross next to this place each time.

• To return exact matches only, quote each version of its name (if you're unsure of the spelling, don't use quotes). Use major search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.).The more possibilities and engines you try, the more information you are likely to find.

• If you think the person has moved to another country, especially a country where another language is spoken, try a foreign search engine. Most major search engines have different versions for different countries (Australia, China, etc.).Try them.

• When looking for a woman who may have married and changed her name, try adding "born" to each variant in the search criteria (born is the word used to indicate that the person is using her maiden name) .

Vary your online searches by including other details. After doing a full search with the person's name and nickname, do a second one with a slight modification of their hometown, age, high school, previous place of work, etc. Repeat the operation as many times as necessary.

• If you know of a website that this person might be associated with, you can Google that site by putting something like “site: stanford.edu Béatrice Lamont” to narrow the search to those results.

Use a search engine designed specifically to find people. They allow anyone to search for people. Try Pipl.com or 123people.com, for example. Use filters to narrow your results if necessary.

• You can also search for a person from the Lost Trekkers site . Select a country, means of transport or other information in the forum that best suits your search.You can browse existing ads and if you want to place an ad, you must create an account.

Find the person's last known cell phone number. Since there are cell phones and numbers can be ported to new phones or carriers, people's cell phone numbers are less likely to change than their home numbers. Although doing a reverse lookup for a cell phone number usually pays off, you might get lucky just looking up the number in different search engines. If the person has listed or displayed their phone number somewhere on the internet, it is likely to appear. Put the whole number in quotes and experiment with hyphens, periods, and parentheses to separate the digits.

• In the United States, a phone's three-digit area code can be traced back to where the cell phone first came into circulation, which could help you identify another place the person lived. or work. The next three digits of the number indicate the interchange area, most interchange areas cover a small town or a neighborhood within the city, such as a ten by ten block area. You can contact the telephone companies in this area or get a directory of this area and make a map of the exchange area, based on exchanges like in the directory. If you have a phone number and postal code, you can further cross-reference the maps and narrow the search area on the map.

Search the white pages online. Type in the person's name and any other details you find relevant. However, if you don't specify the location, you'll get nationwide results, which is useful if the person has moved.

• Sometimes searching by last name only can bring up a family member you know.If the white pages show a list of related people, you might find the person's name mentioned there. This can be useful in cases where the person you are looking for has changed their surname after getting married, for example.

• Look up the person's ZIP code if you know it. If you know the exact zip code, you can trace back to the exact neighborhood within a city or town. From then on, you can search for this person in the directory of this district. If it is not in the directory, call the information for that area. Often people will have an unlisted number, which, while not in the directory, is often known from information.

Search social networking sites. Some people specify that they don't want their public profile to appear in search engine results, in which case you'll need to go straight to the source. Try searching MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google profiles. If you can, be sure to narrow down the results by specifying a hometown or school, etc.To search all major social media sites simultaneously, use a search engine like Wink.com.

Consider less typical searches. Sometimes Facebook and Google don't give you exactly the information you're looking for. If there are particular scenarios that may have happened to this person, you can focus on those rather than the full set of information that any site will guarantee you. This information may be used especially if you are looking for someone in the United States.

• Most states have forensic search websites where all you have to do is (after approving the terms and conditions, of course) enter a person's name, to get all of their background in one nice list. . At the very least, it's crispy and it can give you the whereabouts of it (if it's in the state).

• If it's been a while since you've seen this person, consider searching the SSDI.This is the file listing the deceased persons of the social security.

• Although there is no national website, most states have registries of their inmates. A quick internet query will bring up the site for your state (make sure it ends in .gov).

• For example, the National Personnel Record Center is a fairly comprehensive list of military records [1] .

Post a classified ad. If you know where the person is, post an ad in the local online bulletin board (eg leboncoin.fr). Explain who you are looking for and why.Leave a way to be contacted by which you would not mind receiving spam (eg an email address you have set up specifically for this purpose).

• If you want a long-term ad, create a simple website that uses its name as a keyword. If he ever searches for his own name, your site may appear.

• If you don't know the whereabouts of the person, but you know what school he attended, what profession he is engaged in, his hobbies or interests try posting reviews on the forums and e-mail lists (“mailing lists”). Keep the person's privacy in mind, don't reveal compromising information you know about them.

10.

Think before you post on friend finder forums. Friend-finding forums exist and are hosted by “search angels” or volunteers who use specific people-finding tools. However, the person you are looking for is unlikely to appreciate having their personal information disclosed to strangers on the internet and especially the kind of person who has managed to leave no paper trail to this day.

Method2

Find someone by other means

Ask around. Connect with others who know the person you're looking for (or who can put you in touch with someone who does). Ask them when they last saw or spoke to them or any other personal information like last known email addresses or phone numbers.

• Explain why you are looking for this person. People may not say anything to protect the person's privacy, but they will probably tell the person who is looking for them, and that person might want to get in touch with you. Leave your name and phone number for this purpose.

Broaden the scope of your research. Look into organizations the person might have joined, or been associated with. It could be a hobby, the church, a professional organization or a non-profit. Ask for a copy of their membership file, if any, and try to find the person's name there.

• It's also a good place to find people who might know something. If they can't tell you exactly where the person is, they may be able to nudge you a bit further.

Agree to spend some money. If you're really having trouble finding that person, spending a little money can get you the information you're looking for. Sites like Intelius.com (which is actually used by ZabaSearch) often have more detailed files, but charge to access the data [2] . If you want, this might solve your problems.

• If the internet does not yield results and does not bode well, consider hiring a private investigator. If you're unlucky or don't have enough time to track that person down, it may be best to hire a professional to do it.

Make phone calls. Although it might be a little clumsy, the best way to access the person is through their network. Whatever the latest information you have from him, contact people in these circles by phone. Whether it's a boss, an ex-girlfriend, or a neighbor, call them. Surely it's better than going all over the place.

• Make sure you're friendly and sound sensible. The world is so full of negative media these days that a stranger asking us about a friend will come across as very suspicious. You might get a few nasty responses, but you can also find gold.

Meet at the courthouse. Although an online search might guarantee similar results, sometimes walking to the nearest courthouse (or any other courthouse in the vicinity where the person may be) can multiply new news. Find the public records office and meet the teller. Who knows ? Maybe there is something out there that could put you on the right track.

• Just to warn you, there may be a charge. It should be pretty insignificant. Rejoice despite everything that they do not also deliver your personal files like treats.

Method3

Find a missing person

Call the police. Once you are fully convinced that this person is indeed missing, alert the local law enforcement authorities. Unfortunately, people disappear every day and this type of event is routine.

• Be sure to give them all of the person's information: age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, distinguishing marks, what they were wearing when they disappeared, etc. Also give them a recent photo and fingerprints (if you have them).

Submit a wanted notice online. NamUs (the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) is America's largest network for missing persons . Post a wanted poster online so anyone, including the police, can access the information. You will be able to update it and see if someone else has posted more information.

• There are also organizations like National Center for Missing and Exploited Children , National Alliance on Mental Illness , and National Health Care for the Homeless Council ( health system for the Homeless Council). If your person falls into one of these categories, consider filling out a form on their respective sites.

Carefully research their social media profiles. Whether it's a child, a teenager, or a real adult, look for their social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for clues as to what happened. He may have posted something that leads to something you weren't aware of.

• Also look at the profiles of his friends, the information may be there. If you feel like it, you may want to reach out to these friends to ask if they've heard anything. Sometimes people seek refuge with other people they don't have to see face to face.

Post photos in the city. Hopefully that person is still in the area and if they are, posting photos around town is the only way you can alert people in your neighborhood. Other people will be able to keep an eye out and contact you if they see something.

• Include all essential information (like what you gave to the police) and don't forget to include several contact phone numbers. At least give your first name and insist that you can be called day and night.

Do local investigations. Search near you, in the surrounding area and hospitals near you. In cases like this, it's impossible to sit at home and wait for someone else to take care of everything. Once you've exhausted every nook and cranny of your home (or hers), expand your search to the neighborhood, city, and finally contact the hospitals.It's not the most pleasant of things to do, but it is necessary.

• When contacting hospitals, be sure to describe the person you are looking for.They may not be entered under their real name. Bring a recent photo to make the process faster.

Alert friends, family and neighbors. The more people who can be on the lookout, the better. Not only do you need to browse your entire social network, buttheirs as well . From the Starbucks bartender he sees Monday through Friday mornings to the person doing traffic outside schools in the afternoon, let them know.

• If possible, contact these people with the information and a photo. Those who know people may need a picture to jog their memory.

Alert the media. Once you've done all the groundwork for your area, alert the media. The best way to reach large numbers of people is through local television stations, newspapers and other publications. Hopefully someone saw something somewhere.

• Remember that everyone is on your side. There is no need to be embarrassed, ashamed or guilty about this situation. You do what you can to make sure that person gets home safely.

Advice

• Seek help from someone you trust if you feel it's important enough to get other people involved. Also be aware of the pros and cons of doing the research alone.

• Be honest if you find the person. If you manage to trace this person, do not pretend that you are in this city by chance. Be upfront about your research efforts. It may be embarrassing, but the person may be flattered. If this makes her uncomfortable, be understanding and don't contact her again. The worst thing will be if you reconnect with that person and they later find out that you left no stone unturned to find them. It can be very alarming and worrisome, especially since you have been hiding something.

• Change your way of thinking. She may not be the person you once knew. His appearance, his tastes, his way of life, his habits may have changed radically, even in a short period of time. Any information you have may be out of date. Don't rule out new information because "she would never have moved there" or "he would never have done that." You must accept the possibility that the person is dead or in prison.

Warnings

• Doing this with the intent to stalk someone (and just observe them) can result in a restraining order and possibly a warrant for your arrest.

• Be prepared to pay for online services that help you find someone.

• Do not lie to people in order to extract information from them. Not only is this unethical, but also the person you are looking for may find out what you are doing and become suspicious of you and sue you.

• Always remember that this person may not want to see or meet you.

• These same steps can also be used by someone to find you.

how to find someone

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Co-authored by Saul Jaeger, MS

In this article: find someone online Find someone by other means Find a missing person Related articles References Article summary

In the computer age, everyone leaves a digital trail. And if the person doesn't have one, well, let's look a little further. It's not hard to know how to trace back to the person you're looking for.

Method

find someone online

Image titled Use Time Management in the Workplace Step 7

name and nickname

age and date of birth

schools attended

hobbies, preferences, sports teams (especially at school)

The places of work

old addresses and phone numbers

friends, family members and neighbors

Image titled Not Be Weird at Work Step 7

To return exact matches only, quote each version of its name (if you're unsure of the spelling, don't use quotes). Use major search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.). The more possibilities and engines you try, the more information you are likely to find.

If you think the person has moved to another country, especially a country where another language is spoken, try a foreign search engine. Most major search engines have different versions for different countries (Australia, China, etc.). Try them.

When looking for a woman who may have married and changed her name, try adding "born" to each variant in the search criteria (born is the word used to indicate that the person is using her maiden name) .

Image titled Reap What You Sow in Life Step 10

If you know of a website that this person might be associated with, you can Google that site by putting something like “site: stanford.edu Béatrice Lamont” to narrow the search to those results.

Image titled Act Like a Normal Teenager Step 11

Use a search engine designed specifically to find people. They allow anyone to search for people. Try Pipl.com or 123people.com, for example. Use filters to narrow your results if necessary.

You can also search for a person from the Lost Trekkers site . Select a country, means of transport or other information in the forum that best suits your search. You can browse existing ads and if you want to place an ad, you must create an account.

Image titled Lose Weight While Living a Busy Life Step 10

In the United States, a phone's three-digit area code can be traced back to where the cell phone first came into circulation, which could help you identify another place the person lived. or work. The next three digits of the number indicate the interchange area, most interchange areas cover a small town or a neighborhood within the city, such as a ten by ten block area. You can contact the telephone companies in this area or get a directory of this area and make a map of the exchange area, based on exchanges like in the directory. If you have a phone number and postal code, you can further cross-reference the maps and narrow the search area on the map.

Image titled Cleanse Yourself of Prejudices and Race Based Behaviors Step 18

Sometimes searching by last name only can bring up a family member you know. If the white pages show a list of related people, you might find the person's name mentioned there. This can be useful in cases where the person you are looking for has changed their surname after getting married, for example.

Look up the person's ZIP code if you know it. If you know the exact zip code, you can trace back to the exact neighborhood within a city or town. From then on, you can search for this person in the directory of this district. If it is not in the directory, call the information for that area. Often people will have an unlisted number, which, while not in the directory, is often known from information.

Image titled Keep Your Personal Life Private At Work Step 8

Search social networking sites. Some people specify that they don't want their public profile to appear in search engine results, in which case you'll need to go straight to the source. Try searching MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google profiles. If you can, be sure to narrow down the results by specifying a hometown or school, etc. To search all major social media sites simultaneously, use a search engine like Wink.com.

Image intitulée Lose Weight While Living a Busy Life Step 1

Most states have forensic search websites where all you have to do is (after approving the terms and conditions, of course) enter a person's name, to get all of their background in one nice list. . At the very least, it's crispy and it can give you the whereabouts of it (if it's in the state).

If it's been a while since you've seen this person, consider searching the SSDI. This is the file listing the deceased persons of the social security.

Although there is no national website, most states have registries of their inmates. A quick internet query will bring up the site for your state (make sure it ends in .gov).

For example, the National Personnel Record Center is a fairly comprehensive list of military records [1] .

Image intitulée Market a Business Step 3

Post a classified ad. If you know where the person is, post an ad in the local online bulletin board (eg leboncoin.fr). Explain who you are looking for and why. Leave a way to be contacted by which you would not mind receiving spam (eg an email address you have set up specifically for this purpose).

If you want a long-term ad, create a simple website that uses its name as a keyword. If he ever searches for his own name, your site may appear.

If you don't know the whereabouts of the person, but you know what school he attended, what profession he is engaged in, his hobbies or interests try posting reviews on the forums and e-mail lists (“mailing lists”). Keep the person's privacy in mind, don't reveal compromising information you know about them.

Image intitulée Get Into Journalism Step 19

Method

Find someone by other means

Image intitulée Develop Basic Journalism Skills Step 4

Explain why you are looking for this person. People may not say anything to protect the person's privacy, but they will probably tell the person who is looking for them, and that person might want to get in touch with you. Leave your name and phone number for this purpose.

Image intitulée Enforce Change in Your Personal Life and Work Step 4

It's also a good place to find people who might know something. If they can't tell you exactly where the person is, they may be able to nudge you a bit further.

Image intitulée Accept a Workaholic Husband Step 3

If the internet does not yield results and does not bode well, consider hiring a private investigator. If you're unlucky or don't have enough time to track that person down, it may be best to hire a professional to do it.

Image intitulée Escape Your Life Step 10

Make sure you're friendly and sound sensible. The world is so full of negative media these days that a stranger asking us about a friend will come across as very suspicious. You might get a few nasty responses, but you can also find gold.

Image intitulée Build Trust in a Small Business Step 1

Just to warn you, there may be a charge. It should be pretty insignificant. Rejoice despite everything that they do not also deliver your personal files like treats.

Method

Find a missing person

Image intitulée Begin a Workplace Weight Loss Program Step 1

Be sure to give them all of the person's information: age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, distinguishing marks, what they were wearing when they disappeared, etc. Also give them a recent photo and fingerprints (if you have them).

Image intitulée Quit a Job While on Maternity Leave Step 11

There are also organizations like National Center for Missing and Exploited Children , National Alliance on Mental Illness , and National Health Care for the Homeless Council ( health system for the Homeless Council). If your person falls into one of these categories, consider filling out a form on their respective sites.

Image intitulée Market a Business Step 2

Also look at the profiles of his friends, the information may be there. If you feel like it, you may want to reach out to these friends to ask if they've heard anything. Sometimes people seek refuge with other people they don't have to see face to face.

Image intitulée Go Away to College and Be Close to Family Step 5

Include all essential information (like what you gave to the police) and don't forget to include several contact phone numbers. At least give your first name and insist that you can be called day and night.

Image intitulée Go Away to College and Be Close to Family Step 7

Do local investigations. Search near you, in the surrounding area and hospitals near you. In cases like this, it's impossible to sit at home and wait for someone else to take care of everything. Once you've exhausted every nook and cranny of your home (or hers), expand your search to the neighborhood, city, and finally contact the hospitals. It's not the most pleasant of things to do, but it is necessary.

When contacting hospitals, be sure to describe the person you are looking for. They may not be entered under their real name. Bring a recent photo to make the process faster.

Image intitulée Accept a Workaholic Husband Step 6

Alert friends, family and neighbors. The more people who can be on the lookout, the better. Not only do you need to browse your entire social network, but theirs as well . From the Starbucks bartender he sees Monday through Friday mornings to the person doing traffic outside schools in the afternoon, let them know.

If possible, contact these people with the information and a photo. Those who know people may need a picture to jog their memory.

Image intitulée Buy a Cell Phone Step 4

Remember that everyone is on your side. There is no need to be embarrassed, ashamed or guilty about this situation. You do what you can to make sure that person gets home safely.

Advice

Seek help from someone you trust if you feel it's important enough to get other people involved. Also be aware of the pros and cons of doing the research alone.

Be honest if you find the person. If you manage to trace this person, do not pretend that you are in this city by chance. Be upfront about your research efforts. It may be embarrassing, but the person may be flattered. If this makes her uncomfortable, be understanding and don't contact her again. The worst thing will be if you reconnect with that person and they later find out that you left no stone unturned to find them. It can be very alarming and worrisome, especially since you have been hiding something.

Change your way of thinking. She may not be the person you once knew. His appearance, his tastes, his way of life, his habits may have changed radically, even in a short period of time. Any information you have may be out of date. Don't rule out new information because "she would never have moved there" or "he would never have done that." You must accept the possibility that the person is dead or in prison.

Warnings

Doing this with the intent to stalk someone (and just observe them) can result in a restraining order and possibly a warrant for your arrest.

Be prepared to pay for online services that help you find someone.

Do not lie to people in order to extract information from them. Not only is this unethical, but also the person you are looking for may find out what you are doing and become suspicious of you and sue you.

Always remember that this person may not want to see or meet you.

These same steps can also be used by someone to find you.

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