In the Information Age, everybody leaves a digital trail. And if the person doesn't have one, well, let's look harder. With Google, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and countless other social media sites, whoever you're looking for is bound to have some of their personal information online. Although sometimes creepy, it's easy to follow this trail all the way back to the person you've been looking for.
Write down all the vital information you know about this person. Trying to find somebody using their name alone will probably cast too wide a net. Make your hunt more targeted by including information such as:
Full name and nickname
Age and date of birth
Schools attended
Hobbies, likes and dislikes, team sports (especially at schools)
Places of work
Old addresses and phone numbers
Friends, family members, and neighbors
Search for variations on the person’s name and/or nickname. Every time you find a page or clue that suggests other parts of the profile, write it down in the profile. For example, you might find "Bea Harrington" mentioned in a newspaper in Albany, NY and a “Beatrice R. Harrington” in a brochure in Dallas, TX. Write down both of those locations in the profile with question marks. If you find another indication that the person with that name is in one of those locations, put a tick next to that location every time.
To pull up exact matches only, put quotation marks around each version of their name. (If you’re unsure as to spelling, don’t use quotation marks.) Plug it into major search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.); the more variations and engines you try, the more info you're likely to find.
If you suspect that the person has gone to another country, especially one where a different language is spoken, try a foreign search engine. Many major search engines have different versions for different countries (Australia, China, etc.). Try those.
When searching for a woman who might have gotten married and changed her name, try adding "née" in the search box with every variation (née is a word used to indicate that the person is using their maiden name).
Write down all the vital information you know about this person. Trying to find somebody using their name alone will probably cast too wide a net. Make your hunt more targeted by including information such as:
Full name and nickname
Age and date of birth
Schools attended
Hobbies, likes and dislikes, team sports (especially at schools)
Places of work
Old addresses and phone numbers
Friends, family members, and neighbors
Search for variations on the person’s name and/or nickname. Every time you find a page or clue that suggests other parts of the profile, write it down in the profile. For example, you might find "Bea Harrington" mentioned in a newspaper in Albany, NY and a “Beatrice R. Harrington” in a brochure in Dallas, TX. Write down both of those locations in the profile with question marks. If you find another indication that the person with that name is in one of those locations, put a tick next to that location every time.
To pull up exact matches only, put quotation marks around each version of their name. (If you’re unsure as to spelling, don’t use quotation marks.) Plug it into major search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.); the more variations and engines you try, the more info you're likely to find.
If you suspect that the person has gone to another country, especially one where a different language is spoken, try a foreign search engine. Many major search engines have different versions for different countries (Australia, China, etc.). Try those.
When searching for a woman who might have gotten married and changed her name, try adding "née" in the search box with every variation (née is a word used to indicate that the person is using their maiden name).
