Use the Internet to Locate Wanted Persons
July 14, 2005 – 8:37 amCriminal justice personnel spend a great amount of time, energy and resources trying to locate wanted persons or doing background investigations. Oftentimes we would have better success by working “smart” instead of working “hard”. Why not save your shoe leather and begin your search using the internet.
First, try a Web search. You may be surprised at how much information a Google search will turn up. Search using the person?s name in quotes and try different iterations. For example, if you are looking for James Smith, conduct a search for Jim Smith, also.
Many people register with sites like Classmates.com so they can keep in contact with old friend. You can search listings by school and graduation year. Browsing for names is free but you must upgrade to the paid version ($36) to contact someone through the site. Reunion.com is another similar site to visit but it is not a little smaller. The paid version of Reunion costs $24.
You can also try public information or “find anyone” sites but they charge a fee for their services. They assemble state public records into a searchable database.
Search Systems also provides links to state public records databases and it does not charge for assembling the information. However, the sources of the information, such as the individual states may charge for searches. You might want to try a record search at the county recorder?s office. Use caution as you surf through the site since they try to sell you a membership. They do indicate which sites charge fees.
US Search makes searching easier by keeping its own national database that you can use it to search by name and age. They charge ~ $20 for 24 hours of unlimited searches and the results include a full home address. Another similar site is PrivateEye.com. It charges about $15 for 24 hours of seaching the results will also include a full home address and phone number, if available.
Don’t forget to search death records. Just use the Social Security Death Index. It’s a record of deaths reported to the Social Security Administration. This reporting is usually handled by funeral homes. The index is not published for the general public but some genealogical organizations purchase the information and post it online. The largest is RootsWeb.com. You can search millions records for free.