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Frequently Asked Questions

What is your success rate?

At Sterling, we locate about 95% of the people we endeavor to find. Other sites that claim a 100% locate rate are not being honest. They charge the client's credit card, attempt to find the missing person, refund the failures, and then claim that each "customer" found their missing person. We think this is deceptive.

How much is this going to cost me?

We will do an initial search for a minimum charge of $100, and many are found for this initial charge, but the charge could go higher, depending on the complexity of the case. Understand that we too must pay the companies that sell data to us. Included in the charge are a reasonable amount of follow-up phone calls to locate your missing person. If more time, phoning and searching is necessary, we will require payment before resuming the search. The average charge is about $150. We are very fair and competitive in out pricing, especially considering our success rate.

Why don't you charge $59.95 like some other sites?

If you'd like us to just give you the results of the initial data search, we'll do it for that price, but really, we're in business to find your missing person, not just get a list of their old addresses. Results from these searches can be very misleading and the dead-ends extremely frustrating. We use time-honored investigative techniques to locate your missing person, and we keep in touch with you during the search process.

Why can't I just get the same information off of the web?

Because most of the information we use to find people is not available on the web to the general public. The data companies we buy from sell only to law enforcement, attorneys and private investigators. Furthermore, it takes time to learn how to wade through all of the data out there. We've been doing this for a long time, and have found hundreds of missing persons for people just like you.

What are these data companies?

They are businesses which sell information which they collect from a number of sources. The main source is credit headers. These are simply credit reports with the actual credit information deleted. They include past and present addresses, phone numbers, relatives, etc. They also supply info on other people who live in the same building or neighborhood. Other information includes drivers licenses, marriage licenses, and occupational licenses, depending on the state. We also get criminal records if necessary. However, none of the address information from these sources is guaranteed to be up to date. That's why we follow up and make phone calls, or write letters, trying to contact people who will put us in touch with your missing person.

What makes Sterling so different from the 1-800-SEARCH people?

We've never used their services, we only know that we've gotten quite a few complaints. What we hear most often is that they ask for $65 or $75 dollars, and what they give you is a list of names and addresses and phone numbers you could have gotten off of the web yourself. Then you are left to call dozens or even hundreds of people with the same name as the person you're looking for, to pinpoint the correct person. The 1-800-SEARCH sites might be private investigators also, we don't know. We do know that they advertise a lot, and must be doing well financially, but we question their tactics.

We are real private investigators, and what makes us different is that we TALK to you to find out everything you know about your missing person, and we use that info to actually locate the person for you. Many people complain that when they call the 1-800-SEARCH people, they only reach an operator to take the order. When you call us, you'll talk to the boss. If he's not in, leave a message and he'll call you back. We stick by you during the search. We know how serious you are about finding that person, and we help you find them. Sterling doesn't just find missing persons. We are a full-service private detective agency providing individuals, companies and attorneys with a wide range of services, including witness interviews for criminal and civil cases, undercover work, surveillance and process service.

If you phone us and we are not in, it is because we are out sleuthing. We don't have an answering service, just an answering machine.

Is there some trick to finding people?

Not really. It's just hard work. We are persistent. Each missing persons case is like a puzzle. We are in business to solve these puzzles, and to get you in touch with the person you are looking for. Sometimes we will use a ruse, or a pretext, to flush out someone who might be suspicious of people calling, but not too often. The only trick is keeping good records, knowing where to look, and leaving no stone unturned... ever.

Can you guarantee you're going to find my missing person?

There are few guarantees in life, but it's encouraging to know that most missing persons are not really missing, it's just that you don't know where they are. Fay Faron (a P.I.) calls these "misplaced persons." Our only guarantee is with our Guaranteed Locate Plan. Even so, you are only guaranteed not to have to pay if we cannot find your missing person. But we can't guarantee we'll actually find them, there are just too many variables. If you hire Sterling for your search, and we exhaust every avenue, you can be assured that your missing person is really missing, and not merely "misplaced." But this is rare.

What kinds of people are nearly impossible to find?

People that are nearly impossible to find without extensive, and very expensive, investigations would be the following: transients, people living week-to-week in hotels or on the street, who have broken contact with family and friends; people who have no phone or utilities in their own name, are living with roommates, etc.; people who never use credit cards or write checks, or have no lease in their own name; those who have died while being a transient, and no family member claimed the Social Security death benefit; people who have left the country; people who do not want to be found, and that know how to make it difficult; people who have joined religious communes and have not told anyone; people who have died without identification, far from home; people who were murdered and buried where only the murderer knows... stuff like that.

How can I best help in finding my missing person?

Your missing person's Social Security Number is the most direct path to locating them. This way we can pick out your Mary Smith from the five thousand Mary Smiths in the databases.

A date of birth helps isolate your missing person.

Accurate information, such as the spelling of their name, etc... There have been times when we were looking for someone, then halfway through the search, the client informs us that they had the spelling wrong.

We would rather talk to you by phone, so we can quiz you about your missing person, but email is OK.

What if I don't have a Social Security Number or date of birth?

Even without SSNs or DOBs, we quite often locate people by using logic and deduction. Give us all the info you have and we'll figure the risk factor and quote you an initial search fee. Nearly 100% of the time, something comes up in the search about your missing person.

If you know the age of the person, we can search within a limited time frame. Often, on a birth certificate, it will have a question about the father and mother's age at the time of the baby's birth. Think about it; if your birth certificate says your father was 25 on your birthday, that day could have been your father's 25th birthday, or the last day of his 25th year, meaning his 26th birthday would be the next day. This gives us a range of birth for your father.

Knowing approximately where and when people were married and divorced helps locate ages, too. In many states these records are public, and we can instruct you on how to go about getting these items. Often it may be better for you to get the records and send them to us.

How should I pay you?

We will soon be setting up accounts with PayPal and some other similar payment companies, but for now the best way is for you to mail us a check or money order. Money orders are preferable Make them payable to Sterling Investigations.