How To Find Someone’s Address When You’ve Lost Touch

We live in a mobile society where people move frequently.  While that mobility means we have a degree of freedom our ancestors could only dream of, the downside is that it’s all too easy to lose touch with friends and family.  Knowing how to find someone’s address makes it easier to reconnect when you’ve lost touch. 

According to FiveThirtyEight, the average American changes homes about 11 times in their lifetime.  That’s a lot of neighbors’ names to remember and even more furniture to move.  So how can you track them down?  Let’s start with the most basic methods first. 

How To Find Someone’s Address Through Free Search

There are a few basic search methods you can try that are simple and free, though they’ll sometimes give patchy results: 

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  • Search social media: Check social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, for the person’s name.  If the person you’re trying to find has specialized interests, such as a common fandom, you can also try searching forums where people with those interests gather. 
  • Ask around: Do you share any friends in common with this person?  Is there anyone you can find on Facebook who may be related to them or know their current whereabouts?  If you find someone who you think may have the information you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to reach out to them.  They’ll probably be willing to at least pass along your own contact information and a message. 
  • Google them: Try a Google search, with your friend’s name inside quote marks (“friend’s name”), so it gives results for that exact name.  Try variants of the name, or nicknames, if you don’t get results.  Adding the city they live in, or the name of their spouse, can help finding the information you’re looking for easier.  If you have a photo of the person, you can also use Google’s Reverse Image Search to try and find a website or social media page for them.  
  • Search Whitepages.com: Another option is to enter their name, or the last phone number you have for that person, into the search box at Whitepages.com.  If the person you’re looking for still has a landline phone, that might bring up the information you need.  But as the existence of landlines continue to dwindle, you may need to turn to more advanced search options to find who you’re looking for.
     

How To Find Someone’s Address Using People Search

If the regular search tools let you down, don’t worry!  A general-purpose search engine like Google simply isn’t designed to find the records you need and you may have to use a specialized people-search tool instead.  They’re not free, but you’ll get better results and save a lot of time and effort in the process. 

Spokeo’s people search engines are your best bet for finding someone’s current location.  Spokeo compiles ethically-sourced data from public records spread across hundreds of sources: white page listings, criminal records and even profiles from 100+ social networks.  

The search process works very simply: 

  • Choose the type of search you want, based on the information you have: a name, an old address, a phone number, or an email.  The person’s full name and city make a good starting point if you have that information as well.
  • Enter your query into the search bar
  • Scan the results and select the one most likely to be the person you’re looking for.  If it isn’t the right person, click through additional search results until you find them. 
  • If you don’t get a valid result, try variations and alternate spellings of their name: Catherine instead of Cathy, or try Kathy, even when you know Cathy is the correct spelling because sometimes things are written down wrong. 

The Results of Your Search People Search

If you’ve never used a people search tool like Spokeo before, you’ll be surprised at the depth of the results that sometimes come from your search.  For any given person, the results might include information such as: 

  • Full legal name (very handy if you didn’t have someone’s married name)
  • Marital status
  • Current address and past residences
  • Social media pictures and profiles
  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Court and criminal records (additional fee required)

With this wealth of information at your fingertips, it’s relatively easy to find the person you’re looking for, and to also choose how you’ll get in touch.  Whether it’s a friend request on social media, a card in the mail or a surprise phone call, you can reconnect in the way that’s best for you. 

References: 

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