Finding your son maybe just a few clicks of your mouse away or it might require a more in depth search using the sites that are available to you.
The route you take will very much depend on the quality of information you have relating to your son and the period of time that has lapsed since you last had contact with him.
PREPARATION IS KEY – SO LET’S GET STARTED WITH YOUR CHECKLIST!!!!
NAME CHECK
- What is his full name, including any middle names, initials or lineage title?
- Does he have any nicknames or variation of his Christian name- for example is Charles known as Chuck or James as Jimmy?
Accurate details are essential when checking out telephone listings and ancestry sites
ADDRESS RECORDS
- Do you have his last known or any previous address where he has resided since you were last in contact with him? If not, it’s worth checking with other members of your family that he may still touch base with.
TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND SKYPE
- Do you have a note of his last known home, work or cellphone number or a contact number for his wife, partner or any of his close friends? If not, click onto the Online Telephone Directory services link and check for any listings. Alternatively, if you have Skype you can download their directory free of charge. Millions of people have a Skype account – your son could be one of them!!
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Regardless of age or status, millions of people are registered on a social networking site enabling them to connect with family and friends so the chance of contacting your son via this medium is very high indeed!!
- Check out Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, My Space and Google to start as these are currently the most popular and they are free.
IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SUCCESSED IN FINDING YOUR SON THROUGH THE SERVICES ALREADY SUGGESTED – IT’S NOW TIME TO BROADEN YOUR SEARCH AND EXPLORE MORE OF THE INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS-SO YOU WILL NEED TO FURNISH YOUR FACTS WITH A FEW MORE IN DEPTH DETAILS ABOUT YOUR SON.
PERSONAL HISTORY
- What is his date and place of birth?
- Which college or university did he attend and what year did he graduate?
- Do you recall the names of any of his close college friends that he may have kept in touch with?
To check your information click onto Classmates.com or Reunion.com – both sites hold records of graduates and they also are free.
Since graduating from full time education
- Do you know your son’s occupation and where he is working now or can you remember any place of employment where he may have worked in the past or the names of any work colleagues he might still be in contact with?
If not – click onto LINKEDIN which is a site used by professionals for business networking.
OR
- Do you think your son may be serving in the Military? If so you can check this out on MILITARY.com where you will be able to access the records for military personnel, past and present.
It would also be very useful if you have a Social Security number for your son as this maybe relevant later on in your search.
and finally
- Is your son married or does he have a long term partner? If so do you know the name of his wife/partner and the year he married or started living with his partner?
- Is it possible that he is now divorced or separated and if so do you have an approximate date of the decree nisi/absolute or the separation?
- Does your son have any children and if so what are their names and dates of birth?
If you have not had any contact with your son for some considerable time and are unable to establish any family details you can discover a whole host of information by clicking onto FAMILY LINK.com as all USA records of births, marriages and divorce can be accessed on this site.
AND LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST…
If you have exhausted the services and search facilities already suggested but have not been successful in finding your son – don’t despair or be tempted to give up! The time and effort you have put into preparing your check list and the information you have gathered has not been wasted –but you now need to consider engaging the service of a professional skip tracing agent who will be able to take the search to the next level.
