How Do You Find People You Don’t Know?
Tips On Using People Search Apps
When I was writing my first book, Taking Aim At The President (which is now being republished by a new publisher, Diversion Books), I was researching an event that happened 30 years ago.
I wanted to interview people who were there and possibly involved with the activity at the time?
How do you find people you don’t know? If they are women, did they change their name? Where do they live now? Will they even want to talk to me?
You don’t know any of these things. But if you are determined and have a thick skin knowing they may tell you to fuck off or get lost, or you have the wrong person, go for it.
How important is it to you to find these people, and do you have the guts to be told to get lost?
However, you may be fortunate and strike gold.
I had a bit of both reactions. The fact that I did find a fair number of people who wanted to talk to me was fabulous. Now, some said I could quote them and give them attribution. Some said they would only talk in the background. Fine. Just having the ability to hear what the players experienced and had to say was fantastic and added so much more to the book than just the history.
So, how did I do it? I’m happy to share my tips with you.
So for example, Earl Satcher was the head of an organization called Tribal Thumb. He played the saxophone, carried a gun, and wanted to take control of the San Francisco Food System around 1973.
We know that he lived in San Francisco and was between 25 and 30 years old. How old would he be now? Somewhere between the 60s and ’70s.
Reading old newspaper reports revealed more names:
“Arrested Tuesday were Teresa Ball, 28, suspected of shoplifting; Benjamin Sargis, 49, Tribal Thumb leader, fugitive parolee and 1960s radicals Sara Stubbs, 32 and Bonnie Gordon, 30.” UPI Archives (United Press International)
Using the people search engines, I look up names, a location if asked, and approximate age. All the apps are a bit different. Using what I know, I pin down the possible backgrounds and ages.
You have to pay for more information, which I did as I wanted to get email addresses or phone numbers. Of course, it can be more difficult for women as they may change their names over time. However, I still had luck.
Everything here is public information listed in the media. The person I’m using is real, was in Tribal Thumb, and a fugitive. She lived in San Francisco, California, in the 1960s and 1970s. That is all I know about her except that she was in Tribal Thumb.
The Bonnie Gordon here was 30 in San Francisco in about the 1970s. Below is a partial result of what I received.
This information is beneficial. This person has some California addresses, is the right age today for being in their 30s in San Francisco at the time, and I can look further, and the more you want to know and nail down the info, then you will have to pay for it. Then, I clicked the button to look further, and it asked me for my contact info to send the result.
This is the page you will see when you are ready to view this information. As I mentioned, when I was researching my book, I paid for this information using several sites and did find the people I was looking for. Fortunately, many were happy to speak with me, some off and some off the record.
People search sites:
Check People Run public records search on anyone; it’s 100% confidential
Best for anonymous searches 24/7 customer support Unlimited premium reports
Get unlimited deep searches with social media information. Best for deep searches
Simple mobile app 100% anonymous searches
Intelius Simple, comprehensive criminal reports to ensure trust with people you know
Best for tailored search iOS and Android apps Reverse phone lookup
PeopleWhiz Run accurate scans on more than 67 billion individual records Detailed reports
24/7 customer support A+ BBB rating
People Finders Massive database of records to find anyone’s information Best for fast people search
Unlimited searches State-of-the-art database
InstantCheckMate Browse local, state and federal public sources to find anyone Best for bulk reports
3 types of reports Unlimited searches
Good luck. If you want to test the accuracy fully, use your name and see how close the site comes to being reliable.