1. Looking For Some Who You Love? Have you checked at public
service online?
How about free online people search?
Every day, in towns and cities
across the country, people go
missing. Sometimes they're the
victim of crime. But in most cases,
they drop out of sight on purpose.
Usually they're trying to escape
some problem or avoid some
responsibility.
People who disappear can include
those who are:
- Responsible for an accident but do not want to pay for damages or
face legal action
- Avoiding alimony or child support payments
- Deeply In debt and unwilling to work out payment
- Running from Law Enforcement or the Courts
- Evading taxes or liens or other obligations
If you are looking for a missing person, you should be aware of how
searches on the Internet can now help you locate them.
2. You Can Now Get Access to Data while Sitting at Your Computer that Before
Could Only Be Uncovered using Costly Private Investigators
It used to be expensive to track down a missing person. You had to hire a
private detective and pay them by the hour to do a "locate."
Not any more - not now that so many public records and business databases
are available through the Internet. Anyone with online access and a bit of
determination can do the same kind of investigative work themselves.
There are no guarantees you'll find the person you're searching for, just as
there were never any guarantees with paid investigators. But the cost is
minimal and no one will be more motivated than you to keep at it until you
succeed.
What makes it so easy is a new breed of web-based investigative search
services. Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective or Personal Search
services, these specialized services give you the speedy, accurate access to
all kinds of formerly hard-to-get information.
Note that these search services are not the same as the general search
engines you may already use, like Google or Yahoo. The general search
engines are not the best way to hunt for someone who's missing. The
private search services are best because they're optimized for finding
people. Rather than a search making you scroll through thousands of
unrelated listings, they take you directly to the data you need.
Basic Techniques You Can Use to Locate Someone
When you begin looking for someone, the first step is to collect as much
physical information as possible about the subject. If the person is part of
your own family, you'll probably already have personal information available.
3. Pull out any old files and records. Look for clubs or organizations they
belonged to. Get bank or investment account numbers. In particular look
for any type of identifying records like a driver's license, employee id, etc. A
Social Security Number is the most important identifier you can have.
If the person you're searching for is not someone you knew personally,
gather information from anyone who did know them, if possible. If you
aren't able to get this information, there are ways to get it online through
the search services. It just makes it easier if you have some information to
start with.
Organize what you collect and analyze it for any hints at where the person
might have gone. Sometimes you'll find a clue to where the subject is
hiding right in this first batch of information. It just wasn't apparent earlier
because no one had examined the material closely enough.
What's more common, though, is to find links to other people or
organizations that can assist you in your search. That's the professional
investigator's secret - to find a missing person, first find other people who
know them and can lead you to them.
At times, finding a missing person is as easy as calling up a former
associate. The associate knows and can tell you the subject's current
whereabouts.
If these basic steps don't result in locating the missing person, the next step
is to move to the Internet. Below are some of the common steps that
professionals use to gather information online that helps them track down a
subject. You can use these same techniques by conducting your own hunt
through an investigative search service.
4. Techniques Professional Investigators Use Online That You Can Use Too
1. Do a profile search. Look up all people with the same initial and last
name, city and state. If you don't get promising results at first, and the
name isn't too common, expand the search to other cities and states. In
particular, look in the areas where the subject had relatives, friends,
business dealings or other connections. Once you get a list, try contacting
them. One of them may well be who you're searching for.
2. If you have a Social Security Number, do an SSN trace through the credit
bureaus. Credit bureaus are the most likely place to find anyone's most
current address and phone number. Professional investigators say this is
usually the best way to locate someone who's trying to hide. That's because
most people don't realize all the different types of activities they do that
trigger address updates to their credit record. Everything from filling out an
employment application, to renting a new apartment and getting the utilities
turned on.
3. Search Voter Registration databases. This one is frequently overlooked
but often effective. The reason is that those who disappear tend to build a
new life based on their old one. If the voted before, they'll likely register to
vote again. The records are kept by state offices but collected and available
through better specialized search services.
4. Search Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings. These are lien notices
filed locally and maintained by each state. The Search Services collect the
data so you can access it more easily. UCC's are created to document a lien
placed on property for which a loan has been made. It's valuable in tracking
a missing person because it can lead you to a business that has had dealings
with the person. It's possible you can get contact information through them.
There are a variety of other databases you can access easily through an
online Investigative Search service. From post office Change of Address
records to Driver's License Information to Vehicle Registrations for the
missing person's car or truck -- even records of traffic tickets. Any one of
5. these database searches can either provide a current address for your
subject or a link to someone else that can eventually lead you to them.
Final Word
If you need to find someone who's missing, you can now use one of the new
Investigative Search services to help you locate them. These services collect
the data in one easy to use database or provide easy to use look up tools
with automatic tie-ins to the public databases you need to search. That
makes searching for a missing person faster, easier and more likely to end
successfully.
Go Finding Missing Persons!!
