How to Find a Missing Friend

How many times have you thought, "I wonder whatever happened to so-in-so..." Do memories of a long-lost love penetrate your thoughts on a daily basis, prompting you to begin a search to find them? There are many services out there claiming to be "the best" way to find a missing friend; it'll probably take a combination of all them to find success.

Instructions

1. Many of us have used or at least heard of such social networking websites as MySpace, Facebook and Classmates.com. For those who haven't, these sites are some of the quickest ways to locate a missing friend. They are all active and allow you to search in various ways, including by name, location and even email.

2. PeopleFinder.com is pretty straightforward: Type in a name, city and state to search the online white pages. It's not necessary to know the address or even state; just having a name is enough. The White Pages and Reverse Phone Lookup are free. Be prepared to pay for a Background Check or Public Record search.

3. Yahoo! Search is similar to the people finder. It does not allow background/public record searches but there is a box to find someone's email address. The only input required is the last name of the person you're searching for.

4. PublicRecordFinder.com isn't free but it's comprehensive. Most free searches check online directories and white pages. However, if anyone chooses to do so, their information can be hidden. Public records are not hidden and tend to be a more successful method of finding someone.

5. Hire a detective if all else fails. Some people are just that hard to find, no matter how hard you look. If it's that important to you, hiring outside help may uncover that needle in the haystack.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people do not want to be found. If it's really been a long time since you've seen them, don't be surprised if the reunion doesn't go as smoothly as planned.

Resources

• The People Finder
• Yahoo Search
• Public Record Finder