How to Find a Person in Texas
Locating someone in Texas may seem like a massive undertaking due to the sheer size of the ground one may have to cover. Texas is a big place--nine hundred plus miles across--and locating someone there might not be as easy as it would be in a smaller locale such as Vermont. Thankfully, the process for locating someone in Texas is pretty much the same as it is in any other location around the globe. Here are some ways that you might go about locating a person in Texas.
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Things You'll Need
- Telephone
- Internet access
- Access to local resources such as phone directories and courthouses
Instructions
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Start Locally
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If you know the name of the town where someone was last known to live or work, this is absolutely the place to start. Ask everyone you can think of in the town about the person. Query former co-workers, neighbors, and acquaintances no matter now distant. Often people have information they aren't aware of until they are asked for it. If you cannot locate anyone to talk to in person, peruse the local phone directory for the name of the person you are looking for. If the surname is not a common one, you may have luck contacting people with the same surname in the area and asking if they have any information on the person you are looking for. Chances are they are probably relatives.
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Visit the courthouse in the county where their last known resident city is located. Consult the tax office to find out if the person owns any property in the county. All you have to do is give a name. They will return all the matches, complete with addresses of the properties, that their search finds. While you're there, visit the county clerk's office to perform a search of marriage and death records using the person's name and birth date if you have it. If you suspect the person might have died recently, visit the local newspaper office to perform a search of their obituary archives.
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Follow up on any and all leads you are find. If you are given an address, go to that address. Even if the person no longer lives there, a neighbor may have information about where they might have gone. If you are given a place of employment, the same thing applies. Even if the person no longer works there, former co-workers may have useful information.
Consult the Internet Search Engines
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If your local search provided no results, your next step is to consult the Internet and the vast number of search engines and resources that are available there. Start simply by querying the person's name and possibly last known city, if you have it, in one of the popular search engines - such as AltaVista. Follow any links and leads that search provides.
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Most Texas counties can be searched online and most of the county entities have invaluable records and resources available via their respective websites. Information such as lien filings, partnerships, and mortgage records are readily available for searching.
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Consult the county legal system to find any related criminal or civil court proceedings involving the person in question. This is also available to do - free of charge - online in most counties in the state.
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If the person held a special occupational license or certification, check with the certification boards for updated information about their whereabouts at the time of their last renewal.
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Tips & Warnings
Starting locally is the best way to begin your search in Texas. People have information and people like to talk. So the more people you can contact that may have been even remotely aquainted with the person you're looking for, the more likely you are to get good results.
While all of the information that is available from the aforementioned sources is for public consumption, there are still privacy and stalking laws in effect in Texas. People may not take kindly to any invasion of their personal space so proceed with caution when dealing with unfamiliar people.
