How To Find A Long-Lost Friend

Do you have a close friend from college whom you haven’t seen for the past decade or so? Did you have a misunderstanding with your best friend before she moved and haven’t talked to her since? Finding a long-lost friend could either be easy or hard. The amount and kind of information you have to start your search is a great contributing factor to this.

Finding someone could also be both easy and hard at the same time. It’s hard in the sense that it requires emotional investment but also easy due to the availability of various methods and avenues you can explore. There are 100% free people finder options you can pursue. There are also options where a simple “whose phone number is this?” — question can lead to a reunion with someone you haven’t seen or talked to in a while.

Plan and Organize

Finding someone is a big step that requires careful planning. Before you begin your search for your long-lost friend, it’s best to have a plan on how you will organize and keep tabs on all the information you gather. Do you like storing everything on your phone or computer? Do you prefer printing out everything?

You should also have a clear outline of how you will go about your search. Will you be doing the majority of your search in person or would you prefer to do it online or over the phone? Are you looking to stick to doing a people search free of charge or are you willing to spend some money? Keep in mind that searching for someone may not just require your time and effort but might also require some money.

Before you finally start your search, make sure to gather all the information that might help. You can start by reaching out to people who may have relevant information. For instance, if you have information on your friend’s last place of work, that would be a great starting point. Their last known address as well as the latest phone number you have would also come in handy. Having a list of names and contact details of your friend’s family can also greatly help especially if they remained in contact with your friend.

Explore Online

Looking for someone has significantly become easier due to the advancements in technology that we now enjoy. The internet, in particular, is a great source of information as well as home to various tools and services that can help in searching for someone. Hence, exploring online is a perfectly logical way to do in your quest to reunite with your long-lost friend.

There are several avenues you can pursue online. There are 100% free people finder options you can try. Some services may require a minimal fee but generate more accurate and reliable data. Some of these methods are more effective than others. If you’re lucky, you might find information that will lead you to your friend on your first try. It’s also possible that you’d have to exhaust all these options before you get some relevant information.

• Use Search Engines

Looking for someone via online means starts with search engines. You can start by using popular search engines like Google. It would also be better to try out a couple of more search engines. This will help maximize your chances of finding relevant information that can bring you closer to finding your long-lost friend.

You can search your friend’s full name in quotation marks followed by other bits of information. You can add their last known address, their occupation, or any other such information. Check out at least the first five search pages. If you find anything that looks promising, it’s best to right-click the link and open it in a new tab or browser. Once you’ve exhausted all possible sites, you can go through those that looked promising on your first run-through.

• Search on Social Media

You can also go ahead and start your search on various social media platforms like Facebook. If your friend has a social media account, this could prove very useful. Take note, however, that your friend might be using a different name. They could be using an alias or a nickname. If you haven’t seen your friend in a long while, she might also have gotten married and now uses her husband’s last name.

You can also try looking at the social media profiles of your common friends or your long-lost friends’ relatives. Check out their friend’s list or go through their posts especially those on special events like birthdays, weddings, and holidays.

• Check Out Online Directories

There are also several online directories that you can explore. Your friend might have a business that’s listed in an online directory for their specific industry. Their home numbers might also be listed in online phone directories.

• Utilize People Search Engines

One of the most effective and convenient ways to locate your long-lost friend is by using people’s search engines. There are many online aggregators out there but not all have up-to-date information. You should therefore make sure to use reliable service providers with extensive and up-to-date databases. One such service provider is Kiwi Searches.

Some people search engines and online aggregators offer supposedly free services. Keep in mind, however, that the truly reliable ones would usually require a minimal fee. Service providers may offer different information. The data you get may also depend on the type of search you perform or the report you request.

In general, you might find the following information:

• Full name and known aliases
• Phone numbers
• Addresses (current and previous ones)
• Social Media Accounts
• Criminal History (Court Records, Jail Records, etc.
• Marriage Records
• Real Estate Listings

Once you find relevant information, you can now go ahead and get in touch with your long-lost friend. You can even surprise them if they are the type who likes such things. If you are unable to successfully find your friend on your own, you could always hire a private investigator. The way things are nowadays, though, there’s a big chance that you can find your long-lost friend via one of the methods mentioned above.