Keeping in touch with everyone in your extended family is not always a first priority in our fast-paced society. It can often slip our minds to update relatives when we move or make significant changes in our life. If you have lost touch with a family member, do not despair. There are many resources available both online and offline to aid in your search.
Step 1
Search for your family member in a major search engine such as Google.com or Yahoo.com. Search engines can find public listings on many sites, including white pages and social networking directories. Try placing your family member's name in quotes to narrow the search. Adding a location to the search query can also reduce the results for you to sift through. This method may not work for a common name.
Step 2
Search social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. These are popular social sites that enable people to make a public or private directory listing to keep in touch with family and friends. If your family member has a public directory listing available, you can contact him via the website. Most sites also let you narrow the search by location, employment or school.
Step 3
Use an online people search to try and track down your family member. Classmates.com is a popular site that allows students to keep in touch, so if you know school information on your family member, that is one option to check. Search the Social Security Death Index if you fear your family member could be deceased. Having access to your family member's last name, social security number, email address and phone number can improve your chances of successfully finding her.
Step 4
Contact other family members or close friends of your relative, to see if they know how to get in touch with the family member. If any other family members keep a record of the family tree or genealogy, they may be a good resource to track the person down or even provide you with more information to increase your chance of finding him.
Step 5
Pay for a private investigator or lawyer to track the person down. This option is likely the most expensive, so you may wish to exhaust other resources first.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep in mind that if the family member is a woman, she may have a maiden name you can search for in addition to her married name.
Things You'll Need
- Search engine
- White pages
- Family tree
- Private investigator
- Lawyer
