Laurie with her sister Kathy, aunt Peggie and brother Kevin

Jeri is a people finding sleuth who goes by the nickname “Sherlock”. She has utilized The PeopleFinders Network to find hundreds of people, and was kind enough to share a few of her success stories with us. One of our favorites is about a woman named Laurie…

Laurie was separated from her mother as an infant in the 1940’s. She would never see her mother again.

Years later, Laurie hoped to find her family, but only had a few clues: her mother’s name (which was very common), the name of her mother’s husband (Bruno Vernazza) and the fact that her mother had a sister named Peggy. After some intense investigating, Laurie found an address for Bruno, but it was not current, and the trail dried up.

That’s when Jeri got involved. Jeri used the old address to find more recent information through The PeopleFinders Network. Sadly, Bruno had passed away, but Jeri also found someone who used to live with him. That person was able to provide a few of Bruno’s personal belongings, including a marriage certificate. It was the lead Jeri had been looking for.

After a little more searching, Jeri tracked down a man in Arizona who had the same name as Laurie’s grandfather. That man turned out to be Laurie’s uncle. He helped fill in even more blanks, which led to the discovery of several of Laurie’s family members – including her aunt Peggy, her sister and a brother she never knew existed. Today they all enjoy a larger and very loving family.

Laurie’s case was difficult to crack. It was full of twists, dead-ends and false hope. During her search, Laurie discovered that her name was listed differently on four official documents. The name on her birth certificate was Doran Doran, and officially changing that name only led to more complications. Her search for relatives took more than eleven years, but she finally reunited with her family … and it happened on her 60th birthday!

It took a large amount of ingenuity and perseverance from Laurie and Jeri, but the end result was a happy ending worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. Laurie loves to share her story, and to give others hope that they too can find their family members – no matter how much time has gone by. As she likes to say, her story shows that you just have to be persistent.

If you have someone that you’ve been missing, we can help. Visit us today to search for anyone in the United States. We’ll show you how to reconnect with a family member, friend, classmate, military buddy or anyone else.

We love reading heart-warming tales like this one. If you’ve had your own people finding adventure with help from PeopleFinders, please let us know.  Share your story with us … and we’ll share it with the world.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write and remind us of why we do what we do. We appreciate the messages and love to hear about how we helped you plan your own reunion. Keep searching until you find the people who mean the world to you, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders People Search blog.

Lately it seems almost impossible to find a story with a happy ending. It’s moments like these when our friends and families matter the most. Spending time with the people we care about may just be the best way to get through these difficult times.

At PeopleFinders we’re proud to help you find people so you can reunite with anyone who made an impression on your life. We know that the people who share your life are a big part of what makes you happy and keeps you smiling – even when the world seems to be falling to pieces.

Last week brought a flurry of bad news and stories that were difficult to digest. Certain events are so horrifying that we can’t even begin to understand them, but no matter what happens, we always have other people. Family. Friends. People who are there to comfort us when things are bad, and celebrate with us when they are good again.

Our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by these tragic events. We’re all hoping for better times around the corner. Until then we can turn to each other for reassurance, do everything possible to keep our families secure and try to watch out for one another, because we’re all in this together. Stay safe out there, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders People Search blog.

Facebook has more registered users than some countries have people. Their latest statistics show that the website is catching up with the populace of the United States. According to the most recent Census, the U.S. currently has 305,529,237 residents. The “population” of Facebook isn’t far behind – they now have just over 300 million users.

Last July Facebook reported 250 million users, so this is a very impressive jump in numbers over a short period of time. The company is constantly looking for creative ways to attract even more people. They recently launched Facebook Lite, a toned down version of Facebook that they claim is a “faster, simpler way to keep in touch with your friends”. Facebook also has several projects in the works, including a voice chat application, to delight social networkers.

It’s working. Although the site has been wildly popular, it has not been profitable. That changed during their last quarter; for the first time ever, Facebook made a profit. This is causing people to view the future of the company in a different light. Until recently there has been a great deal of speculation that Facebook would be sold to a large competitor, but now people are thinking the social networking site is in it for the long run.

Twitter gets talked about a lot, but a few recent Tweets have really caught the attention of the nation. These Tweets came from employees of ABC News who overheard a comment made by President Barack Obama while his guard was down.

President Obama was talking with CNBC employees before an interview, and several ABC staff members who share the workspace were nearby. The subject of Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards came up, and Obama said that his actions were inappropriate. When someone asked why Kanye would do that, Obama replied “He’s a jacka**”.

Obama’s statement was met with laughter, and he asked that it be kept within the room. His request was denied, however, when more than one ABC employee Tweeted about what the President said. ABC officials had the messages removed, but by then they had been seen by a large number of people and were already being Re-Tweeted by those who approved and disapproved of the President’s comment.

This incident reopens a recent discussion about what people who work at nationally recognized companies can and cannot post on their social profiles. Representatives of ABC felt it was wrong for their employees to post a comment Obama made privately, and this could lead to a new set of rules that people must follow when using social networks. In the meantime Obama’s remarks will fall under intense scrutiny all across the globe.

At PeopleFinders.com we understand that social networking sites are popular because people everywhere want to stay connected. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping you find people anywhere, so you can reunite with long lost friends and family. We’ll even show you how to find people on their social network sites of choice and keep up with their latest updates. Stay connected to your friends and family, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

Finding people is easy these days. You can find anyone with a People Search or get someone’s most recent number using a Reverse Phone Lookup. PeopleFinders.com can show you how to get in touch with a long lost friend or relative, but when you see them again you may discover you’re at a loss for words. Here are a few ice breakers to help you get started.

We understand that reconnecting with people you haven’t seen in years can be nerve-racking. It’s difficult to communicate with anyone when you’re anxious, so take a moment to relax and collect your thoughts first. You’ve waited a long time to reunite with someone special, so make sure you’re calm and ready.

One of the easiest ways to get a conversation going is to reminisce about the past. Everyone loves a trip down Nostalgia Lane with an old friend, and it’s a great way to remind each other about the good times you shared and the things that brought you close in the first place. Talking about the ‘good old days’ often leads to discussions about what you’re doing currently.

If you prefer to focus on the present, remember that a lot has happened to you both since you last saw each other. Start the ball rolling by bringing up anything that is an important part of your life today. Share the news of promotion, marriage, children or any major event your friend hasn’t heard about yet. Once you get the conversation started, you’ll realize you both have a lot to discuss.

Another ice breaker is to meet somewhere that has personal significance. Try the old restaurant where you always ate, or that special park where you spent so much time together. You may also want to bring pictures with you. Looking at photos encourages chatter, so take a look at old pictures you haven’t seen in years or share new ones.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re missing someone just remember there was a reason you shared a connection, and chances are they’re also missing you. Start by finding people who have been on your mind, think about how you can break the ice when you reunite and prepare for a journey that will enrich the rest of your life.

Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

For an entire week The Colbert Report was filmed, edited and broadcast from an actual war zone, where the host joked that “It must be nice in Iraq, because some of you keep coming back again and again.” During the shows, Colbert wore a specially designed camouflage suit as his personal uniform, aired exclusive messages from several major political figures and even shaved his head to show support for the troops. That got us thinking: if Mr. Colbert and his crew were willing to go that far to connect with people they didn’t know, how far would people go to reunite with someone who played an important part in their lives?

The answer is: they’ll go as far as it takes. Of course most people don’t have the resources that a television show can put together, but that won’t stop them. We looked for examples and found plenty, like the mother who drove from Utah to California to find her long lost son. She wasn’t able to fly, but the 800+ mile road trip did not deter her. Another great story came from a son who flew across the country to reunite with his long lost father. His journey to reconnect with a parent he hadn’t seen in nearly 4 decades took him from North Carolina to California.

Time after time we’ve seen that people will go to any length to reunite with someone special. We loved the story of sisters who were brought back together with help from The Red Cross. The women were separated during World War II and didn’t know what happened to each other for more than 60 years. One sister lived in the United States and the other in the Ukraine, but neither distance nor time could stop their tearful reunion.

So how far would you go to reconnect with someone you care about? Luckily, these days you don’t need to go anywhere to find and connect with anyone. PeopleFinders.com is proud to provide one-time People Searches as well as short and long-term Memberships so you can find anyone, anywhere from the comfort of your own home. We’ll help you find people; how far you’ll go to see them is up to you.

Do you have a story about reuniting with someone after using PeopleFinders.com? If so, we’d love to read it. Leave a comment, share your thoughts and thank you for reading our People Search Blog.