calling encyclopedia brown.

[subjective]

let's say you want to find a very old friend. you have not heard from her in over two years. here is what you know:

the state she graduated high school in, but not the name of the school.
where she graduated college (approx 4 years ago).
where she was living two years ago.
the state her parents lived in, two years ago.
her name is one of the most generic ones ever. (seriously, like an equivalent of john smith.)
so are the names of her parents & sibling.

is there hope? if so, what is your course of action?

i got a letter from nyu today that was addressed to my old name. i also got a note from my dad, with some business items. he did not mention the pictures i sent him. it was not a good mail day.

Comments

[jvb419.livejournal.com]

You could see if her college has an alumni association and ask if they have a current address for her. Even if they won't release it to you, they might be willing to forward a message. Good luck!

[cubanvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

i would try going through the college she went through, they usually keep tabs on former students so they can try to get money out of them.
also, try her name in the whitepages (http://www.whitepages.com) under any state that you think she might have been in.
maybe you can find out if her parents left a forwarding address wherever they last lived? that might give you some idea.
good luck!

[thecherrybomb.livejournal.com]

i don't think all hope is lost.

there is more hope if she is computer savvy and internet ready.

the first thing i would probably do is throw her "full name" and "college name" into google (with the quotes around them). and if you get too many hits consider adding her program name or something else that might only come up in a bio about her. if she has gone on to do cool stuff there could be articles about her and her work (i.e. if she has written something cool for an academic journal or won some award they might put a short tidbit about her somewhere). you could also get her an online version of her resume or something. you might not get contact info, but you might find more information that might help you look. like current employer or volunteer organizations she is involved with (than you can try calling them up and just asking for her) or the like.

after that i might try to search her college's webpage and maybe try to search back issues of a newsletter or something.

you might also try "classmates.com" but then you will actually have to pay money (i think) if you want her contact info.

hmm, if you want any more advice let me know. i'm pretty good at finding people online. sometimes i think i might have been a private investigator in another life. :)

[tarynhipp.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure how to find your old friend but i do know i love you. :)

[(Anonymous)]

If her initials are JJ, her dad supervises a wildlife refuge system in Crosset, Arkansas. Try http://felsenthal.fws.gov/index.html. Good luck.