Find Missing Classmates

Whether you work on an alumni committee or simply miss a dear friend from high school or college, tracking down a missing classmate can be a daunting task. There are many websites that can do this for you, but they usually depend on classmates to list themselves first. If your missing friend doesn’t sign up on the website, you won’t be able to find them.

What do you do if you can’t find your classmate on a people finder website? Start your own search! It isn’t impossible to find people this way and there are several easy ways to track down a missing friend. All you need is a computer and a few simple sleuthing skills such as making phone calls or jotting down a note to people at your alma mater.

What type of information do you need first before you begin your mission? Obviously, a complete name is key for your investigation. A yearbook is a great place to find this information since a first name, middle initial and last name as well as maiden names, are needed for your search.

In addition to a name, you will also need the name of the high school or college that your classmate attended. Occasionally names of high schools and colleges are changed over the years and you may need the previous as well as the present name of the institution that your classmate attended.

Finally, if you have your missing classmates date of birth, city and state where you believe they may reside and their age you will be able to track them down rather quickly.

A great place to perform a free search for a missing classmate and get results immediately is by using www.zabasearch.com . All you need to perform a search is to have a first and last name. Any other information that you can provide will help narrow your search. Simply type in the first and last name of the person you wish to find and click submit. Zaba Search will then provide you with multiple listings that match your criteria and they even allow you to leave a message for the person you are looking for. Most listings they will provide you with include a street address, phone number

One place to search for missing classmates and receive a comprehensive data report is through www.privateeye.com . They will perform a search for you and provide you with a detailed report. The cost of a search that they will perform for you is $9.95. This site requires that you provide the first name and last name of the person you are searching for and they can significantly narrow the search if you provide additional information such as middle initial, last known state of residence, birth date or age. You will receive a copy of the report within 24 hours.

There are a few other ways to track down a classmate that doesn’t require the use of the Internet. If you are looking for a high school classmate you may be able to find them by calling the business office of the school your classmate attended. Occasionally a person still lives in the town they grew up in and the person answering the phone at the school may volunteer this information. Due to confidentiality issues, most people will not give you the phone numbers or addresses of people that attended an institution. However, you may be able to get them to forward information about you to your classmate. In this case send your information to the office you spoke with and indicate to whom you want them to send the information to. You may also ask if there is a high school alumni association that you can contact. A high school alumni association can help you locate classmates because they keep student records for planning class reunions.

College alumni associations can provide a similar service to help you locate classmates. Alumni magazines usually have a personals section in their magazine that allows classmates communicate with each other. All you need to do is either write a personal and mail it via snail mail or send an email to the Alumni office and request that they print your personal in their next issue. There is usually no charge for this service and you can also get copies of the Alumni magazine sent to you at little or no charge.

Finally, talk with friends of your classmates if you are still having trouble locating a friend. Often the grapevine is a great way to find out what missing classmates are up to. If your friend has been successful, odds are pretty good that they have passed on the information either to other classmates, family members or even their teachers from their alma mater.