How to Find Missing People

The power of the Internet makes it easier to find a missing person today than in the past. Someone can often be traced through public records found online. There's a limited amount of information you can obtain free of charge, but enough to help you find a missing person.

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection

Instructions

1. Enter a missing person's name into online search engines and check results. Look up his address or phone numbers on whitepages.com.

2. Find out where a missing person was last seen and start at that point, radiating outward. Once you get a good lead, follow it. For example, if you know she was at a nightclub, ask questions of the employees to find out whom they saw her talking to. Then track down the people she talked to.

3. Contact a missing person's immediate family, friends and neighbors. Ask if they have spoken to him recently and what their conversation consisted of. Ask if they know any plans he may have had. Then contact more casual acquaintances, such as barbers or bartenders.

4. Mail a letter to a missing person's last known address and include your return address. Write "Do Not Forward; Address Correction Requested" on the envelope. The post office will notify you if they've received a new address.

5. Search an online resource, such as PeopleFind.com, that retrieves information from multiple public records. You may have to pay a fee to find more than basic information, however.

6. Look up a missing person in the Social Security Death Index (see Resources, below). It's helpful if you have her Social Security Number.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep notes of your searches for the missing person. This will help you draw conclusions from what you've found and keep you from looking in the same place twice. As a last resort, look for websites for interests the missing person had. You may, by chance, find his name on website message boards.

References

• Yourfamily.com
• About-the-web.com

Resources

• Social Security Death Index