How to Locate Missing Friends

Friends may take time off for unknown reasons

Losing friends is not uncommon in today's fast-paced world. Often, the relationships we form, whether online, at our workplace or outside it, are all too temporary. Other friendships are ended by a move, change of interest, or a workplace transition. Luckily, the rise of the Internet and better forms of telecommunication have made tracking down lost friends much easier.

Things You'll Need

• Personal computer
• Internet connection
• Address book
• Telephone

Instructions

1. Use your last known contact with this friend as a starting point. If this person emailed you, return that email. If you know the friend's telephone number, call. And if all you have is an address, send a letter.

2. 

   Use a powerful search engine.

   Go online to find the friend's contact information through a powerful search engine like Google. A person may have a common name such as Jane Smith. In this case, narrow the search results by adding a hobby, alma mater or recent residence to the search term. Also, search social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Myspace. Many people use Facebook as a way to get in touch with lost friends; according to Internet data gatherer ComScore, more than 500 million people belong to the site.

3. Ask a mutual friend if he or she has recently had contact with your friend. The mutual friend may have more up-to-date information about your friend's whereabouts. If you know one of your friend's family members, contact that person as well. Make sure your friend is truly unable to be located before taking further steps.

4. Hire a private detective to track down your missing friend. The detective will have resources available that may not be at your disposal. These could include databases, magazine subscription mailing lists and voting records.

5. Call the police. If you and the friend's family and loved ones are unable to find his location, your friend may be in trouble. Most police departments have a missing persons bureau set up for this purpose. Any information, whether personal information about the friend, date of last contact or recent changes in the friend's life, could be helpful to report as well.

Tips & Warnings

• If your friend has recently left town, ask his former employer if he left a forwarding address. A landlord may also have this information.

• If this friend attended school with you, call the alumni relations office. Often it will have up-to-date contact information for fund-raising purposes.

• Sometimes a friend takes time off for inexplicable reasons. If this is the case, it is best to give her privacy and wait for the point when she is ready to rekindle the friendship.

References

• USAToday: Find Lost Friends Using the Internet
• Wall Street Journal: Facebook Crosses the 500 Million Threshold, ComScore Says
• Tristar Investigation: Missing Person Search

Resources

• California Department of Justice: California Missing Persons
• Federal Bureau of Investigation: Kidnappings and Missing Persons Investigations
• Facebook