Knowing how to find a long lost friend can be a simple way to rebuild your relationship. Whether you're looking to reminisce, make new memories, or take advantage of the relationship-building and networking opportunities this meeting brings, you can easily find a long-lost friend using a few simple steps. If you're looking for ways to find missing people, read the following article.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Collecting Data
Step 1. Make sure you know the name
You have a good chance of finding a long lost friend again if you know his name, especially his middle name. A unique name will make your search easier, because a name like Jimi Joni Soni will probably return a lot of search results.
- Keep in mind that your friend may have changed his name. If it's a woman, it's possible that her last name has changed. Although not all, there are some women who still use their real names.
- A middle name will narrow your search, especially on the internet, and increase your chances of finding the right Jimi Soni.
Step 2. Keep as much personal data as possible
For example how you got to know him, whether through school, work, or the military unit, any data you know will make it easier for you to find it.
- If you know him at work, try to remember what he does.
- Try to remember friends (especially mutual friends) and family members. Sometimes, you can find a long lost friend through a friend or yours, or through a family member.
- If you have a phone number he may have used in the past, try using a phone number locator to be sure. Services like this don't always work, but they can shorten your search time if you find the name of the owner of the phone number matches what you're looking for.
Step 3. Start from the last location
Hopefully you can still remember this information. Starting to search in one place might help, the more specific, the better. You can narrow your search by linking a job, or religious organization, or school to the person you're looking for.
- If you do a search with a search engine like Google, you can type in "Jimi Joni Soni, City X, Province Y". If you have more information, you can type something like "Jimi Joni Soni, City X, Province Y, City Church X", which will give you a hint as to who you should contact.
- If you know which city your old friend might live in, you can look for him on the Metacrawler White pages, an online search using information from Google, the yellow pages and white pages, which may return his phone number or address.
Part 2 of 3: Searching Using the Internet
Step 1. Use a search engine
You can type the name into Google and see the results, although the data you enter should be fairly specific. Full name, origin, occupation, university, or anything else that can help you find it. There are many free search engines, so you shouldn't have to spend a fortune to do so.
- You can also use search engines like Pipl, which can find people by searching them in various public databases. These search engines can open documents such as work history, which can help you find someone.
- Websites like Peekyou can provide social networking results as well as news, business information, and even new blogs.
- You need to remember that these kinds of services may not be able to provide the information you are looking for. Even though you can access a variety of data, the results that are given may not always match what you are looking for.
Step 2. Try searching for it on Facebook
Facebook can help you track someone through their friends' friends, school, university, current location, or hometown. All of them can help you find the right person!
- Facebook has groups of alumni of schools, universities, social groups, religious groups, etc. You can use groups on Facebook to rekindle old relationships.
- If you manage to find someone you thought was your friend on Facebook, send them a message and ask if they're really your friends, and ask them to be friends with you. You can even include a memory or two that remind you of your past relationship!
Step 3. Use social networking sites
There are many networking sites for making friends, for different groups, or for business people. You can use a variety of these sites to find someone, especially if you know the groups of people or places they might visit.
- Use a search engine like Classmates.com to find schoolmates from any year. With a free basic membership, you can find your friends from alumni schools, universities, or military units.
- Friends Reunited is mostly used by people in the UK, all the way to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. However, it can give you access to search for people who are from the same school, university, military service, office, club, or street as you.
- Social networking sites like BatchMates are based in India, but their members are spread all over the world. You can search for friends by name, agency, or company, and you can send a private email once you find them.
Part 3 of 3: Searching Live
Step 1. Search through his family members
If you remember the names of your friends' family members, try to trace them, especially those with unique names.
This is especially useful if the friend you are looking for is someone you knew when you were younger. You may remember more about her family information, such as her parents' occupation or social organization
Step 2. Search through mutual friends
Sometimes you know someone who knows someone who can reconnect you with your friends. It's possible that someone is friends with you on Facebook, but doesn't talk to you very often.
It might be a co-worker, if the person you're looking for has worked with you, or someone in the same religious circle as you, or someone from the same high school as you
Step 3. Search through employee or alumni data
Contact your office (or old office) for information. You're better off talking to someone you know, because the office rarely gives out other people's information for granted.
- Take advantage of alumni data or contact your school or university. Some high schools sometimes issue data on graduate students. Most universities or colleges record alumni data as well, and you can request information on this data or look up reunion event information.
- Use student association or organization data to find alumni. If you don't have access to use it, contact the student body of the university, provide your full details (usually your full name, date you joined the organization, etc.) and they will give you access.
Step 4. Use public data
You can do this step in various ways, you can search for marriage records and name changes. You can search for a death certificate or criminal record. You should know the full name of the person you are looking for and where they are from if you can.
- In the US, to access public data, you must contact the National Center for Health Statistics. Alternatively, you should find the local government health agency that is supposed to keep such records.
- If you can't find any information about your friend, it's possible that they don't want to be contacted, or they may have died. In this case, there's not much you can do to find it. Sites like familysearch and tributes can help find a deceased person or obituary.
