How to Locate a Long Lost Friend

Thinking back to old times with past friends can leave you wanting to reconnect with some of them. As time goes on, friends sometimes lose touch but there are many ways to reconnect with long lost friends.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Phone books
• People search websites
• Private detective (not always necessary)
• Patience

Instructions

How to Locate a Long Lost Friend

1. Join a social networking site like Facebook, LiveJournal, or Myspace. These sites are completely free to join. You can search old friends by name and locate their online profile. Many people have reconnected with long lost friends through social networking sites.

2. Use internet search sites like www.zabasearch.com or www.peoplefinder.com. If you‘re looking for basic information such as names, addresses and phone numbers, it is usually free.

3. Contact schools and see if the person is listed in the alumni association. You can also visit www.reunion.com, www.classmates.com, or www.alumni.net to search former friends by name or school.

4. Hire a private investigator to track them down. If you’ve tried everything you can think of to locate this person to no avail, a private investigator may be able to help you find them. It’s not free but most of the time private investigators find who they’re looking for.

5. Visit your local library and ask them to assist you in your search. Libraries usually have resources to help with people searches. Many have national telephone book databases available for you to search on cd-rom.

6. Go to your county assessor's office and try to locate your long lost friend by property records. These records have the name and address but note that if the person has married or changed their name it will be harder to locate them this way.