People Search Tips

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People Search Tips

For Finding Missing Friends andFamily Members

The Trade Secrets of the Private Investigator Revealed!

These are my top 20 people search suggestions and some useful online resources to helpyou find missing friends and family members in the UK. I hope that you will find themuseful.This document is for information purposes only and does not impart legal or financialadvice to readers who must consult their own legal and professional advisers beforespending money or taking action of any kind based on this report.Please feel free to give away or sell copies of this report so long as it is not altered in anyway. An updated copy (with up to date links etc) will always be available throughhttp://www.blood-ties.com/peoplesearchtips.pdf UK People Search News©2007

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People Search Tips for Finding Missing Friends and Family Members

Here are my top 20 people search suggestions and some useful online resources to helpyou find past friends and family members. With a bit of work and inspiration there is noreason why you should not be able to locate people without employing a professionalinvestigator.However, if you find the task a bit daunting or your case is overly complicated, makesure you choose an investigator or genealogist, who has a good reputation, is wellqualified and a member of a trade body, before you employ them. You need to feelconfident that you can trust them with your personal information and you need to knowwhat their terms are so that you can budget for their time.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

It is perhaps wise to examine your motives for starting a search before we go any further. It isimportant to consider the feelings of the people that we are looking for. Any investigatortaking on such a case needs to make doubly sure that the information that you are unearthingwill not be used to cause harm or distress to the person you are looking for.It is also important to give some thought as to whether this is the right time to start a search. If possible you need to be on an even keel emotionally when you start your search. It is always agood idea to use a good friend to bounce your ideas around with and just to listen to how youare feeling. It is worth seeking counselling if the search will bring many difficult feelings tothe surface.It is very likely that a long-term desire to be reunited with close family will eventually reach apoint where a decision is made to try to locate them and attempt a contact. But how is that tobe achieved?The task of tracing a missing relative may seem very daunting, but if the job is dealt withsystematically and patiently you will get results. As I see it, the work is a combination of theskills of a genealogist and an investigator. I find it fascinating work.

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WRITE IT DOWN:

Write down everything you know about the person you are looking for and then start afile to keep all the results of your searches in. There is a useful form included as anappendix to this report. The sort of questions you want answers to include:

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What is their full name?

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What is their date of birth or approximate age?

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When was the last contact?

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Where were they living at the time?

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Where did they or their family come from originally?

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Names, if known, of any family members?

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Where the person went to school or college.

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Any other information, such as their occupation and hobbies.I suggest that that you ask your family and friends for their help in adding to your knowledge,but do be aware that they may be uncomfortable about your decision to undertake a search.You need to be able to ask unemotionally at first.You may be surprised how much you know or have heard from other people, but it mustbe said that it is possible to trace people from very little information. Do try to be carefulover the spelling of names if possible. It is all too easy to go off on a wild goose chasewith inaccurate information at the start.The more information you put in the better, as each addition is another possible avenue togo down in your search. As the search continues, you can update and change your file asnew knowledge comes your way.I would suggest that you keep all the papers together in your file and try to keep it inorder, or you may find yourself repeating your searches and wasting your money.

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TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES:

At an early stage you should check out the telephone directories. You can do this at thelocal reference library, where they should have the printed directories for the wholecountry.If you are online then check out any of the following:BT athttp://www2.bt.com/edq_resnamesearch/ UK Phone Book at http://www.ukphonebook.com/ 192. Com athttp://www.192.com/ With all the above, you need to specify a location as well as the name. Fortunately, manyof us don’t move far from our previous address.