How to Find a Person’s Location: The Complete Guide

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Expert guidance on how to track people down
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There are circumstances under which you may wish to find a person. The person could be a long-lost friend, family member, or former business colleague. If you have no information on the person's whereabouts, you will need to track them to obtain current contact information. To help, we met with private investigator Carl Clatterbuck to get in-depth help on how to track someone down.

Finding a Person You’ve Lost Track Of

"To find someone you lost touch with, get creative," says private investigator Carl Clatterbuck. Use the Internet and social media to search for them, or call mutual acquaintances to learn their whereabouts. If their name has changed, try to search for them using their old and new names.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Tracking Someone Using Social Media and Cellphones

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  1. Social websites like Facebook and LinkedIn will allow you to find people based on name, location, school attended, or expressed interests.
    • Type in the person’s full name and last known resident state into the search bar on Facebook or LinkedIn.
  2. Many social media accounts will allow people to post a location when they make posts. For example, if the person you want to track is on vacation in Germany, their Facebook account might show "Berlin" as the location for photos they post. Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites also allow people to “check in” at specific locations. [1]
    • This will only work if you are friends with the person, have a mutual friend who can look for you, or their security settings allow people who are not friends to see their posts.
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  3. You can enable a tracking plan with many major carriers if you want to keep tabs on where your child goes. For example, T-Mobile offers "FamilyWhere," a program that uses a cellphone's GPS to tell you where your child's phone is. [2]
    • If the person you’re tracking has an iPhone, you can use the Find My app to see where they are, so long as you’re sharing locations.
    • If the other person has shared location via Google, you can see where they are in real time using Google Maps .
  4. You can use a GPS tracker to track a car or personal property, but it is a legal gray area (at best) if you don’t get their consent to do this, so be careful. In general, it's a good idea to make sure of the following: [3]
    • You own the car or property, or you’re tracking your child.
    • The GPS is visible and accessible.
    • You could get the same information by physically following the car.
    • Please consult with an attorney if you are unsure whether using a GPS tracker in your situation is legal.
    • Look up your state-specific laws regarding GPS tracking and surveillance before you do anything.
    • GPS trackers are extremely hard to find," Clatterbuck says. “We’ve had GPS trackers on cars for as long as three years without the target realizing it.” [4]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Using a People Tracking Website

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  1. Most sites will provide basic personal information for free, but may require payment or fees for more in-depth information. Keep in mind that providing your email address and password to any of these sites can lead to access to your personal information unless otherwise stated on the site’s registration page. [5] Reputable options include:
    • PeekYou - A good site for finding people online that searches over 60 different social networking sites, blogs, websites, and other online sources.
    • UserSearch - A simple-to-use website for searching thousands of social networks to find a single user profile. The site is free and provides an additional service for searching dating websites.
    • WhitePages - an easy-to-use site to search for someone’s address in the United States.
    • Zabasearch - This comprehensive search engine allows you to look up someone’s address and phone numbers, including any unlisted addresses or numbers.
    • Pipl - This search engine claims to dig up information that Google may miss by looking for someone on the deep web. The initial results are free, but there are fees for more in-depth information.
    • Do not pay a people tracking site. Everything on these sites is public information, says Clatterbuck. He explains, “If the person has a stable life—owns a house, has a job, and buys cars—the info you need will be online for free. But if they move a lot or have changed their name, those sites are useless anyway.” [6]
Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Hiring a Private Investigator

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  1. Ask a trusted friend for recommendations on an investigator, if you can. If you don’t know anybody who has a quality recommendation, look online to find a PI to hire . [7]
    • Use an online search engine like PInow to look up pre-screened, vetted, and qualified investigators.
    • You also can and should ask your potential PI for references you can call and check with before hiring them.
    • Will the person I’m looking for know I hired a private investigator? Clatterbuck says there’s basically no chance. “A good investigator is undetectable," he says. "We’ve followed people for years, and they never knew.” [8]
  2. A professional private detective will be able to provide their license number. You can then check with your local municipality to make sure it is valid, it matches the name of the private detective, and if any complaints or issues have been filed against them. [9]
    • The only states that don’t require licensing for private detectives are Idaho, Mississippi, South Dakota, Alaska, and Wyoming.
    • You can run an online license check here , although they don’t appear to have every single licensed PI.
  3. Most investigators will offer a free initial consultation. This will allow you to become familiar with the investigator and confirm the PI has an office. [10]
    • If the investigator only works out of restaurants or over the phone, this is a bad sign. You need to be sure you can easily locate the investigator at any time during the search at an office.
  4. It’s best to find a detective specializing in the task you need or the person you are looking for. [11]
    • Double-check that the investigator has insurance. Most serious PIs are insured for up to a few million dollars. While insurance is not necessary for all jobs, if something were to happen during the work, as the employer, you would be held liable if the investigator had no insurance coverage.
  5. The investigator’s fees may vary based on the circumstances of your search and who you are looking for, so discuss all fees upfront before you hire them. [12]
    • Expect to pay a higher fee for investigators with extensive expertise and training.
    • Discuss if the investigator has a flat fee for basic searches like a background check, personal research work like a cell phone number search, a criminal record check, or a vehicle registration search, as well as a bug sweep of a home or car, and GPS monitoring.
    • Inquire about the investigator’s hourly fee. These can vary by expertise and by the amount of information the investigator needs to look for. Fees can range from approximately $40 to $100 per hour.
  6. Some private investigators may require a deposit depending on the type of service required and the circumstances of the investigation. [13]
    • Factors like travel time, estimated number of surveillance hours, urgency, and accommodation costs will affect the deposit or retainer fee.
    • If you are using a private investigator’s service through an attorney, there will usually be no retainer required as long as the attorney takes responsibility for paying the private investigator.
  7. The contract should outline the services to be performed and require complete confidentiality between you and the investigator.
    • The contract should also require the investigator to document all search activities, as well as a record or itemized list of work completed by the investigator.
  8. There are no guarantees the investigator will successfully track the person you are looking for or locate them, but the odds are very good they’ll find something. PIs do not stay in business long if they’re unable to find people, so be patient and wait for more information.
    • If a competent private investigator can’t find a person, the odds are that nobody can (outside of maybe law enforcement).
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Collecting Information on the Person

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  1. List the person's names, starting with the full proper name of the person. If the person goes by nicknames, write those down as well. If you know their birth names or married names, note those. [14]
    • Record the person's age or approximate age.
    • Write down the last known address for the person. Add anything you have encountered that may indicate that the person is now in another geographic location. For example, a former neighbor may provide information that the person left Massachusetts for a job in California.
  2. This includes their telephone number , email address, and any social network contacts.
  3. Suppose the person you track has an ongoing career in a specific field. In that case, the person may be on a business or professional networking website that may list their current contact information. [15]
    • If you haven’t checked LinkedIn yet, take a look there to see if you can find where the person works.
  4. Ask them about the person’s interests or hobbies. These interests may place the person on a special interest website or blog. [16]
    • Try to identify as many former friends and family members of the person as you can. The person may be traceable through them.
  5. It seems like it wouldn’t yield anything helpful, but if the person’s name is even moderately unique and you can include the state or city where they live in your search, you’d be surprised how much information could just be out there. [17]
    • To search for someone on Google, type in the person’s name and the state they currently live in, if you have this information, for example: “Jane Doe Idaho”. If they have a very common name, it helps to narrow down the search by searching their full name, their current resident state, and any other personal information you may have. [18]
    • If you know the person’s phone number, try searching for that as well.
  6. Links to those people may enable you to track the person through family, friends, or business associates. You can also reach out to see if anyone else who knows them happens to know where they are. [19]
  7. 7
    Perform an inmate search to see if they were arrested. If the person you’re looking for kind of disappeared out of nowhere, it’s possible they’re detained for some reason. Use any search engine to run a search for the last known state or city they were in, plus “inmate search.” Enter their name in the inmate search to see if they pop up. [20]
    • Make sure to run checks for city jails, state jails, and federal prisons. These are going to be three different databases, so run a specific search for each.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I track someone's location using their IP address?
    Community Answer
    You can go to an IP tracking lookup website and enter the IP number. It will give you results that are accurate to the nearest mid-size city or so (usually). This will not track them very accurately though, so you won't get a specific address, and the location won't move with them. (IP addresses have fixed locations.)
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    Not Helpful 8 Helpful 35
  • Question
    How can I find someone that has changed their phone number?
    Community Answer
    Find her/him with social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, and contact them there.
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    Not Helpful 12 Helpful 21
  • Question
    Is it possible to track someone while knowing only a name?
    Community Answer
    There are some ways to find a large group of people that share the same name but finding the right person within that group needs a lot of time and a lot of money. If you're prepared to start with a large group and sort through everyone in it, it might be possible but likely very hard. If you have an image, you could ask people via social media if they know the person. Last resort, hire a detective.
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      Warnings

      • Do not install a GPS tracker on an individual's property if you wish to track them. This is likely illegal.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/174846215904356
      2. ↑ https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol70/iss6/3/
      3. ↑ http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/gps-tracking-laws.html
      4. ↑ Carl Clatterbuck. Private Investigator. Expert Interview
      5. ↑ https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-people-search-sites-sell-your-information
      6. ↑ Carl Clatterbuck. Private Investigator. Expert Interview
      7. ↑ https://www.peoples-law.org/using-private-investigation-service
      8. ↑ Carl Clatterbuck. Private Investigator. Expert Interview
      9. ↑ https://www.peoples-law.org/using-private-investigation-service
      1. ↑ https://www.peoples-law.org/using-private-investigation-service
      2. ↑ https://www.peoples-law.org/using-private-investigation-service
      3. ↑ https://www.peoples-law.org/using-private-investigation-service
      4. ↑ http://www.diligentiagroup.com/legal-investigation/how-much-does-it-cost-to-find-a-person/
      5. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet
      6. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet
      7. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet
      8. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet
      9. ↑ https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000899.htm
      10. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet
      11. ↑ https://www.itpro.com/business-operations/hr/367884/how-to-find-someone-for-free-on-the-internet

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To track a person’s location, use social media sites like Facebook or Instagram and look for GPS location markers like cities or businesses. Additionally, watch for “check-ins” on sites like Twitter, which will show where a person was. To track someone by phone, contact your phone carrier to enable a tracking plan on family networks, or use sites like Google Latitude, which uses GPS to show where the phone is. If you need to track someone you aren’t in contact with, try using a site like White Pages or Private Eye to find an address or phone number. For more ways to track a person, like hiring a private investigator, read on!

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