As an investigative journalist, I have uncovered many hidden treasures on the internet. They include hard-to-find names, addresses, phone numbers and even criminal histories. I don't want to brag, but I have to say, if it's on the internet, I can find it. I didn't invent the search engine, I just use it to its maximum potential. You too, can find anyone or anything you look for if you know how to use the tools at your disposal.

The most well-known search engines are Google and Yahoo! and are the best place to start. Type in the name of the person you're looking for, but be sure to put quotation marks around the name. For example: "Johnathan Quincy Doe". Scan the results to see what comes up in the first 100 hits. If you don't find anything within that section, refine your search by narrowing down the name and adding the last known state of residence: "John Doe" Florida. You can try any variations of keywords but keep it simple and try to think of something that would nail down your search. If your person worked for a certain company or had a certain hobby, you could add that to your search words. I found someone in 20 minutes after losing track of him for 20 years this way. The successful search string went like this,"John Doe" Florida writer and POOF! There he was somewhere around number 12 on Google. Without the 'writer' bit, I would have been looking through thousands of people with the same name living in that state.

If Google or Yahoo! aren't giving you the results you seek, there are other sites that cut through a lot of the fluff. ZabaSearch is a free people search engine that is easy to use and even offers a place to leave notes for someone letting them know you're looking for them. I even found an old friend who has an unlisted phone and address!

For those of you who want to dig up a little dirt, (and who hasn't been a bit angry with someone and wanted to) look up the state, county or city court system for your friend and see if they post court records online. This paid off in my own life when I tracked down an ex who had done some bad stuff. I looked up his home state (Wisconsin) and found the court records online at wcca.wicourts.gov and found his current and past criminal records. The record included his last known address, so I was able to have him served with more souvenirs of his favorite hobby - breaking the law.

Last, but not least, for those of us who die of curiosity every time our phone rings and we don't recognize the number, there's Real Pages (realpages.com). They offer a very good reverse phone lookup. If the name is unlisted, they can give you a good idea where the call originated and if it was a land line or cell phone.

So. Enjoy these tips on finding people, and use them wisely. After all, someone might be looking for you too!

Learn more about this author, Lynn Ellen Wolf.
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