How to Find a Long-Lost Relative Online

All you need is free time and a working web browser to find a long-lost relative or friend online. One of the most effective, although lesser-known ways is by using a people search website. You can enter your relative’s personal data into a service like Checkpeople.com. This and similar sites scour the web, searching social media, blogs, and other sources containing the person’s name.

Gathering as much information as you can about the relative is an important step. Try to remember details about them, such as their favorite games, hobbies, their place and date of birth, or a company they used to work for. Any likes, dislikes, or personality quirks could prove useful.

Once you’ve done this, don’t put the search off. If you stopped after searching for a bit, pick up where you left off. You don’t need to start over, especially if you’ve reached a dead end.

Some online genealogy services can help you find a lost relative or even that you have a relative you didn’t know about. Family Search and Ancestry.com are two such websites. There are even services that offer DNA testing to verify online database findings. It’s recommendable to take advantage of DNA testing services because they have reunited children with parents as well as siblings successfully.

Yahoo and Bing can be as useful as Google in your search. Ideally, use all three. Type in the lost relative’s age, name, job, and city or state. To make your search more efficient, you can look at the University of Buffalo’s best search engine list for people and web searches.

Don’t give up if you don’t get results the first, second, or even the third time around. Keep trying. Wait a few days and then do another search if you don’t find anything the first time.

Another option is to create an account on a missing persons platform. You could register on NAMUS (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System). This federally-funded site allows the general public, as well as law enforcement, to add missing person cases and follow up on them. After you create an account, you can add a case. If you have a photo of the person, include it by all means, even if it’s old. Add as much specific information about your relative as possible. This will help people identify them.

NAMUS also lets users make and print missing person posters. Once you do this, distribute and put them up in the area of the person’s last known residence and around your neighborhood.

Check your account as frequently as possible - persistence is the key to success. You’ll find NAMUS has forums where people looking for their loved ones share their experiences. They will make you feel less alone.

Scour databases of relevant trade organizations if you know what your relative did for a living. You could be able to narrow their location down to an area or state using this method. Ideally, you’ll find where they currently work.

Consider using the prison system as a resource if you still can’t find anything. The FBP website lets people search for inmates by name using a special inmate locator tool.

You’ve probably thought about the first, but not the second. Social media are a source of critically relevant information. Search for them by name and look up other relatives by name too. You might find them through another loved one.

You can find a missing or lost person using the court records search tool of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Enter their name and choose from a name list resembling your relative’s most closely. Alternatively, you can use specialized websites to locate your relative. These are notable for facilitating searches by state. For example, on this page, you can search for inmates in Massachusetts.