# How to track someone down with \*very\* little information about them... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073 "2010-08-12T19:08:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RedBloom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/1 "2010-08-12T19:08:15Z")
I’ve been trying to do detective work for months now (to no avail) in trying to locate someone. Unfortunately, I only have her: name, former employer, email address, and city she lives/lived in as of 6 months ago, and the name of her son. I’ve tried to email her and she only replied once. Still can’t find her. I don’t know any of her friends, so I can’t do it that way. Did I mention she has the most COMMON name known to man? A FB search brings up over 200+ hits. AGH. I’m just shy of hiring a detective to find her. How in the world can I go about this? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/2 "2010-08-12T19:13:02Z")
If she replied once, she knows that you’re looking for her, and quite possibly doesn’t care to renew your acquaintance. I’d advise you to ask yourself if she really wants you in her life. It’s one thing, of course, if you want her to pay an old debt or other obligation, but if you’re just trying to get back into her life…maybe you should let it go. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/3 "2010-08-12T19:22:57Z")
That depends on why you are trying to find her. If you have a large sum of money that belongs to her or something I would go ahead and hire the private detective. If you want to declare your undying love for her or something you need to let it go and stop trying to track her down. Stalking isn’t cool despite what Say Anything might have taught us. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/4 "2010-08-12T19:36:23Z")
Removed post, will contact mods to delete. Don’t want to give advice if it is not certain the person wants to be found. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/5 "2010-08-12T20:05:02Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > Stalking isn’t cool despite what Say Anything might have taught us. But, but… He gave her his heart and she only gave him a pen! Remember when stalking was adorable? Then Rebecca Schaeffer had to go and ruin it for everybody. Bitches, man. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/6 "2010-08-13T04:32:10Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Removed post, will contact mods to delete. Don’t want to give advice if it is not certain the person wants to be found. No worries, it looks like you got it before the edit window closed. It’s as if it never happened. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/7 "2010-08-13T04:37:14Z")
My spidey-sense is tingling, I suspect this thread will be mod-closed very soon … ---
**Author:** ![drpepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@drpepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drpepper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/8 "2010-08-13T17:26:16Z")
> [@RedBloom](#): > > I’ve been trying to do detective work for months now (to no avail) in trying to locate someone. Unfortunately, I only have her: name, former employer, email address, and city she lives/lived in as of 6 months ago, and the name of her son. > > I’ve tried to email her and she only replied once. Still can’t find her. > > I don’t know any of her friends, so I can’t do it that way. Did I mention she has the most COMMON name known to man? A FB search brings up over 200+ hits. AGH. I’m just shy of hiring a detective to find her. > > How in the world can I go about this? 😕 If this is a thinly disguised attempt to find Donald Ivens, I think that ship has sailed. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/9 "2010-08-13T17:41:52Z")
Do you still have a copy of her panties that you filched from her dresser while she slept? OK, swab it for DNA and see if you can match it up to any national databases. Or you can take the clippings of her hair around to various salons and see if the stylists recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/10 "2010-08-13T17:58:54Z")
From other posts, it appears that RedBloom is female. So she’s a girl trying to track down another girl. Our Say Anything references are probably obsolete now, but we can always use Single White Female as our frame of reference if needed. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/11 "2010-08-13T18:00:56Z")
There are skip-tracers you can hire online for (last I checked) $100, this is how I found my kid’s dad after 11 years of looking on my own… I could check on the company I used maybe… But… WHY are you looking for her?? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/12 "2010-08-13T18:51:35Z")
As long as we don’t see any rules violations, instigation of illegal activity, or undue sniping or trolling, there’s no reason to close the thread. At least for now, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-track-someone-down-with-very-little-information-about-them/550073/13 "2010-08-13T18:54:54Z")
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