Tracking someone down

Factual Questions
1

Okay, I want to find an old friend.

This person left Milwaukee for the Twin Cities a month after I left Milwaukee for the hellhole of Jackson, Missisippi.

Now, this was back in 2000. She got married back in 1999.

We lost touch, and blah blah blah no idea where she is. Could be anywhere in the country, really.

So, how can I find this person?

I’ve talked to all sorts of people, some more helpful than others. The next person who tells me that “if I had her social security number it would be easy” will probably get a punch in the grapes. I know it would be easy - a blind monkey could find someone with their social security number.

I’ve done some searches online, and I can find records of her residence at her old address (which I knew already having spent a good deal of time there). I can find a record of a car accident she got into in 1994, and even her address at the time of the accident.

I’ve tried a couple online services that gave me squat except (you guessed it), the old 2000 residence.

Now, I know there are professionals that find people. I have no problem paying. If someone were to say “I’ve got the info, give me $300”, not a problem. But I hate the thought of someone saying “It’s $50 an hour and I’ll let you know the final bill when I get the info”.

Getting the resources to do it myself for free, of course, is always nice too.

So, I’ve got someone I want to find. I know the two high schools she went to (but can’t remember which one she graduated from). I’ve got a full maiden name and a married name. I’ve got an age within a year. I’ve also got a last known (to me) address.

So, is there a chance? Any ideas? I figure if I’m going to find help the geniuses of the SDMB would be the best (and probably last) shot.

Thanks
-Joe

2

I used to belong to an adoption group, and we used to compare notes about how to find people, so it’s something I happen to know a bit about (found my birth family a few years back, but unfortunately my birth mother had already passed).

Anyway, you have a name, so you’re doing a lot better than what a lot of people start with. You also have a known address at one time, which also can help. Do you know where her parents live? Odds are it’s in the same general area where she went to high school. You could look up their name in the phone book and give them a call. If there are multiple people with that last name in that area, just start at the top of the list. Chances are you’ll hit a relative fairly quickly.

You can also contact the high school and find out who is in charge of reunions. They might have her current address on file.

3

I hadn’t thought of the reunion thing before. I’ll have to look into that.

As for the family thing, her mom is in Africa, and her brother is somewhere west, which could mean just about anywhere.

The last name isn’t that unusual, but it’s not too rare either. When I’ve searched I haven’t found many, anyways. The service I tried, though, all the addresses were OLD. For example, the address for her mother was the same as the one in the 1994 car accident report.

Her married name is bad. Let’s just say that it’s a very generic German name, and we’re talking the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Illinois area…

-Joe, sigh

4

Have you actually called a private investigation agency and asked about their rates? It might be a better deal than you expect, and a good one can do seeming miracles with the amount of information you have.

5

The next question being, of course, how can I possiby tell which is a good one and which is a bad one?

-Joe, probably won’t find a Consumer Reports for PIs.

6

OK, fair enough. Do you know a lawyer you trust? He could probably let you know who his firm uses.

Another possibility – putting a personal ad in the paper of the last couple of cities you know she lived in (“anybody knowing whereabouts of”, etc.) Not too expensive, and you never know.

7

Try http://www.classmates.com/static/index.html

Put in both schools and look her up.
If you have not tried this yet.

8

Don’t give up on the secondary searches – do you remember the name of her: Dad, Husbands father, best man, maid of honor? They have mail in Africa – I bet there aren’t too many “Jones” there & this site lets you search by name and approx age for the brother (or others).
http://find.intelius.com/

Also the old address – if it was an Apartment you could see if the management company has a forwarding address – in some cases they will share this, in many cases they will not. If it was not an apartment & really even if it was, you could contact the current residents of the address on the chance they have a forwarding address – it would not be that unusual if they are the next people to be there soince it was only 2000.

What did she do – was there any professional association or a place she might llogically be working?

9

Have you tried searching under the husband’s first and last name?

What online searches have you used? Did you try http://www.theultimates.com/

10

I agree with a lot of the suggestions here.

If it were me, I would try to get a copy of her marriage certificate. I imagine this is doable if you know which county she was married in.

The marriage certificate might have all kinds of useful information on it – a birth date, even the names of the husband’s parents might be useful. Because if you can track down the husband, you’ll probably get her too.

Note that LEXIS-NEXIS has a database called “P-FIND” which lets you look folks up by name, birthdate, address, and/or approximate age. In my experience, about 90-95% of adults in the US are listed in P-FIND.

I would also check the property records in all the counties in the twin cities area. Note that deeds have all kinds of useful information on them and are frequently searchable online.

If you know the profession of the husband or wife, that could be very helpful. Doctors, lawyers, general contractors, acupuncturists, and just about any other regulated profession have records that can often be looked up very easily.

One last point: When you’re tracking people down, you gotta be a little canny when you call people on the telephone. Don’t just say you’re an “old friend” – they’ll think you’re a stalker. It’s best if you have a specific reason that hopefully suggests some kind of benefit for the person you’re looking for. e.g. “We found a locked jewelry box with her name on it.” Not that you should make stuff up, but it helps to put a little spin on the story.