As we age, an inner desire to reconnect with long-lost friends is imminent. Perhaps we’ve moved across the country or it’s simply been years since we’ve been in contact with certain friends, but retracing our roots is an important part of aging. Thankfully, finding these friends from the past is easier than ever due to the far reach of the Internet. These methods are often free or low-cost and can have you talking with old high school friends without a long wait. It’s important to plan your search before you begin to save the frustration of reaching an abundance of dead ends.

• Gather information from high school yearbooks and mutual friends with whom you still speak to simplify your search. Write down full names, birthdates, known addresses and even telephone numbers, which will help narrow down your search results. These details will act as clues throughout your search.
• The easiest place to begin is with a larger search engine. Type in the name in two ways: last name first and first name first. For example, if looking for Erich Kaminsky, type in his full name as such, and then repeat the search as Kaminsky, Erich for even greater results. However, unique names can make it hard to find the right person. In these cases, you need to use a specialized site.
• Visit site designed to simply find people. These are sites with extra search engine topics that will allow you to type in those remembered facts and details about your lost friend. Sites designed for alumni or even employee tracking sites can help you to find the friend from your past.
• In some unfortunate circumstances, it can be hard to locate the person for whom you seek. This may mean they are deceased. Search obituary pages and tribute pages to see if this is indeed the case.