Person Search Information
People searches have become easier than ever, thanks to the vast amount of information available via the Internet. A variety of free tools are available to help you track someone down, whether you're looking for an old friend, searching for an absent parent in a custody or child-support case, investigating a potential employee or trying to find the owner of a particular property.
Other People Are Reading
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Free Online Databases
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A number of websites offer free public records searches. Enter the name and a city or state in which the person has lived, and the sites will search phone numbers, property records, criminal and civil court cases, and other records. Such sites will return enough information that you will know that this is the person you are looking for -- age, city, known relatives -- but will charge a fee for details.
Such sites include www.pretrieve.com, www.public-records-now.com and www.peekyou.com. You can find others by typing "free people search" into Google or another search engine.
Inmate Locator Services
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If you think a person may be incarcerated in a certain state, visit the website of that state's corrections department to see whether you can do an online search. You can search for federal prison inmates at the Bureau of Prisons website listed in the Resources.
Several private websites also allow you to search for people who may be incarcerated. It'll help to know the person's name, birth date and last known location. One such site is www.theinmatelocator.com. Others can be found by searching for "inmate locator" on a search engine.
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Property owner search
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The identity of property owners is part of the public record. Contact the property tax assessor's office in the county where the property is located. All you will need to provide is the address. Often this information is online and can be accessed immediately at no charge. In some jurisdictions, you can perform this process in reverse online: You provide the name, and the database tells you whether a person with that name owns any property.
Reverse Telephone Search
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If you have the phone number of a person you are trying to locate, but not the address, this information can sometimes be obtained by using a reserve telephone lookup service. Enter the phone number with area code; if the number is listed, it will return an address. This does not work for cell phone numbers.
You can perform a reverse lookup simply by typing the number into Google. Other services that offer reverse lookups include www.anywho.com, www.whitepages.com and www.411.com. Others can be found by searching for "reverse telephone lookup" on Google or another search engine.
Search Engines
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Google and other search engines are amazing tools for tracking people down. If you don't have luck just by entering the person's name, try searching for the name in combination with other information, such as the person's hometown, occupation or current or former employers.
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