Skip tracing (the method used to find missing persons) is defined by Wikipedia as "a colloquial term used to describe the process of locating a person's whereabouts for any number of purposes." Most often these purposes are for the collection of a debt such as child support.

What all do you know about the person for whom you are searching?

Using sites such as Anywho that offer free online telephone directories, search for your subject (or the name of anyone they may be residing with) in any areas you believe they may be living.

If your search produces no results, then search with the missing person's last name only, in the last known area of residence, and make a list of everyone with that surname and their telephone numbers. You may need this list later and saves you the trouble of doubling back on your research.

Most of these sites also offer reverse phone searches that can come in very handy. If you have a telephone number, but no address; try plugging it in to the reverse search directory. It may turn out to be all you need!

You may be wondering why I would suggest sending a letter to someone that you are obviously unsure of where they are, right?

Using the list you made previously of known family members and those with the same last name in the missing person's last known area of residence, start calling.

In the past when I have used pretext calling as a means of skip tracing, I always pretended to be a friend of the missing person just looking to get in touch with them. And here's a tip in using this method: the less professional you sound, the better the results. My favorite way of doing this was to use my innocent, young voice and a persona that was a bit on the, well, "dingy" side. It was amazing the information I was able to get people to tell me.

Even if the people you talk with don't know the subject's current address, be sure to write down any new information they provide such as girl/boyfriend's names, jobs, vehicles, etc.

Continue to work with all the information you have until you have exhausted this method of skip tracing.

Warning: Most states have laws that make it illegal to present yourself as a law enforcement officer, government official, or legal counsel. Stay far away from using such personas when trying obtain information about a missing person.

One last tip: remember that most people have a Caller ID service on their telephones these days. Either use *67 to block your number or make your calls from a neutral location such as a payphone (you'll receive better results using this latter method as people are automatically leary of private name, private number calls). The use of a personal cell phone, even using blocked number services, is not recommended for pretext calling.

Most legal matters filed with the Court are considered public record and available for anyone to view. The only exception to this rule includes juvenile records and adoptions.

The internet age has essentially eliminated privacy for anyone. Just about everything is archived online now from newspaper articles to vital records.

Skip tracing can be a time consuming effort, but the rewards are often tremendous. As a matter of fact, once you've completed your first successful skip trace, you may easily find yourself addicted!