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2dim said:
Vewy intewesting...could you try finding some old friends for me?
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I have a pretty short list of people I do it for. Most of it is by referral. I have to talk to the party's and absolutely know their identity. No offense, but I have to be very sure of who someone is and why they want to find someone before I can look. Most of it is last-resort stuff like long lost kids, long lost parents, siblings, etc. Some of it's pretty sad. It can be very compelling.
The quickest way to get a handle on most people is online white pages. I've found more people through their phones than everything else put together. If you can get good at just searching various white pages you should be able to find 75% of your old chums -- because most of them won't be trying to hide.
Phone data is your best, first shot. Keep notes on hits from different directories. When you think you have a hit, remember that phone listings are often two years out of date. You can always call if you think it's him. Since the phone records can be so old, you may get 4-5 hits on the same name at the same address from different directories:
J Johnson 555-5555, 123 Some St, Sometown, VT
John Johnson 555-5555, 123 Some St, Sometown, VT
John M Johnson 555-5555, 123 Some St, Sometown, VT
John and Linda Johnson 555-5555, 123 Some St, Sometown, VT
Sally Johnson 555-8888, 123 Some St, Sometown, VT
The above example would be really good hits with a high likelihood that he's still there. If all those listings were somewhere in the system at the same time it would look like some were older, some were newer and it looks like finally their teenage daughter got old enough to have her own phone. It could also mean that the daughter's phone was disconnected up to two years ago when she left home for college. These would be really good phone hits.
Phones will probably give you the greatest return for your effort if you're looking for old friends.