# How Do You Go About Finding Someone?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 17, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283 "2006-01-17T00:07:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283/1 "2006-01-17T00:07:52Z")
So as I am prone to do around this time of year, I’ve dragged out all my old writings, journals, photos, etc. to wonder about what may have happened to all these old friends of mine I’ve lost touch with over the years. And, as I am also prone to doing, I’ve exhausted every single search option online, Classmates, phone books and the like trying to track some of these folks down. Apparently, they just do not exist anymore.
Having never accepted defeat very gracefully, I’d still like to eventually track at least some of these people down and say hi and all that. I’m just wondering, aside from hiring a private investigator (which, while I’m keen on getting in touch with them, I’d not go to those kind of lengths to do it), what other tricks are there out there to find someone if you have a pretty good idea what state and possibly even city they might reside in?
---
### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283/2 "2006-01-17T07:16:26Z")
The Google ads advertise for peiple-finding websites. [Like this one.](http://www.webinvestigator9.org/) However, I’d just google their names and see what you come up with. then drop them an e-mail.
---
### Author:  [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283/3 "2006-01-19T13:42:20Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> The Google ads advertise for peiple-finding websites. [Like this one.](http://www.webinvestigator9.org/) However, I’d just google their names and see what you come up with. then drop them an e-mail.
Maastricht,
I see you are from the Netherlands. I’ll be traveling to Amsterdam soon and could use your thoughts. Here’s the link to the thread I started.
> **[first overseas travel (amsterdam) what do I need to know](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=354712)**
>
> I don’t even know what I should know. I’m pretty much a small town homebody. I’ve been to California, Louisiana, and Pennslyvania…Oh, and I spent a couple of weeks in the woods of Ontario. So I’m pretty much “Unworldly” and unsophisticated. This...
Sorry for the intrusion.
---
### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-finding-someone/340283/4 "2006-01-19T14:22:40Z")
When I need to do a criminal check or skip trace on someone I use publicdata dot com occassionally.
[http://www.publicdata.com/](http://www.publicdata.com/)