The First Three Resources for a Paralegal Trying to Locate a Missing Person

Help from the Phone Company

Hearing the recorded voice of a phone company employee tell you an important phone number is no longer in service can chill your bones. But although it may appear that the person has moved, don't jump to any immediate conclusions. Consider first that there may be troubles with the phone line. Try your calls at different times later in the day, and maybe the phone lines will work again. Perhaps the phone was in fact disconnected, but the resident still lives at that address. Some people have problems paying their bills and can't get phone service. Sending your investigator or, if you have enough time, a certified letter to the address may get an immediate response.


If you're sure the person no longer lives at the address, wait a few more days to see if he or she gave a forwarding number to the telephone company that wasn't immediately installed on the old number.

If neither of these tactics works, turn to the phone company itself. It offers one of the most inexpensive skip trace services in the country. Dial Directory Assistance and ask for a new listing for this person. Be sure to ask for an address too. If you're looking for Mr. Randy Jones, have the operator give you all of the R. Jones listings.

Using your copy of the most current phone book, look for the person's name and all abbreviations of his or her first name. If you know the spouse's, relatives', or in-laws' names, look for those too. It never hurts to call and ask; they may lead you to the person you want. If the surname is not common, you might try calling straight down the column. After years of fielding misdirected phone calls, many people learn to identify and locate unrelated persons who share their last name.

If by chance you know your missing person has moved to another state, start with the area code and Directory Assistance again. Get an atlas or a map of the state and find the city. Go to the phone book and get the area code. If the state uses one area code for complete coverage, ask the operator to check for the new listing statewide. (They don't always like to do this, so ask nicely.)

You'd be amazed how many times this works.

If you have the phone numbers of other witnesses, call and ask if they know the person you're looking for. In some cases, the wit nesses will have been passengers in the same car, friends together at the scene of an incident, or otherwise acquainted by virtue of professional or personal relationships.

Help from Property Records

You can try to find out if your missing person owns property in one of two ways: by checking the county property lists or by getting the information from a private real estate database service. The first method involves a trip to the county hall of records or courthouse for a detailed search under the person's name. You also can do some of your research at the county assessor's office to see where the person's property tax bills are being sent.

The database method is much faster, although it can be expensive. With most of these services, the on-line time is charged by the minute plus a standard search fee. Many private investigators subscribe to these real estate search services and can get this information for you.

Keep in mind this property search method only works if the missing person's name is on the deed or title to a piece of property; it doesn't locate renters, just owners.

Help from the Motor Vehicles Department

Nearly everyone over the age of 16 in this country has a driver's license, a state identification card, or a car registered in his or her name. Many investigation firms subscribe to data search companies that are allowed access to state motor vehicle records.

Privacy of information laws vary from state to state, with some quite liberal and others, like California's, much more stringent.

Depending on your particular state, you can get DMV information that ranges from extremely helpful to barely useful.

The key to the value of DMV information relates mostly to its recency. DMV records, unlike fine wines, don't get better with age.

Old addresses, bad license plates, and other similar dated information can only cause you or your investigator to waste valuable searching time. Most people are basically honest, and they notify their DMV soon after they move. This keeps them current in the computer files and helps them get their new registration tags and license renewals.

It's fairly simple and painless to locate these people. However, there are some people who don't notify DMV after each move either because they're forgetful, or have crime on their minds, or they move so often that they have a hard time keeping track of themselves. Many state DMV records are cross-referenced, meaning that entering the person's name also will give you his or her driver's license number, driving record and license history, and any vehicles-including boats, trailers, and motor homes-that are registered under his or her name. Depending on who gets the information for you and the speed of your state DMV office, it usually takes about 10 working days to get a printout copy of someone's driving record.

If you run into roadblocks with one name, try running same- surnamed relatives or children if you know of them, You can often verify that the information is current by checking the last date the DMV interacted with the person. Anything over one year old is probably suspect. If your information is fairly current, it's much more likely to be accurate.