Tips & Tricks for Online Sleuthing
Kim Ositis, Public Law Library of King County
kim.ositis@kingcounty.gov | 206-477-1308
October 10, 2014
Starting Points
Pipl.com
https://pipl.com/
Pipl.com searches across many different sites to provide a profile of the subject. Most of the results are from
paid sites but you should be able to get some information for free. From the About page: “Our search scours
the top social networks, directories, public records, publications, associations, ecommerce sites and thousands
of other sites. The data we collect includes contact, social, employment, education, demographic and
background information.” Reference USA
Reference USA is a subscription database available remotely through the Seattle Public Library and King
County Library System and likely other large library systems. Search for U.S. and Canadian businesses
and U.S. residents. Over 25 million U.S. and Canadian businesses and over 267 million U.S.
individuals. Active library card and PIN number required.
http://www.spl.org/library-collection/articles-and-research/phone-books-and-directories
http://kcls.org/learning/databases/
Intelius.com
http://www.intelius.com
Initial free search shows previous cities, family members, aliases and previous employers.
Advancedbackgroundchecks.com
http://www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com/
Free initial searches show relationships, full addresses, phone numbers and email addresses! Most will be outof-date but may provide valuable clues for eliminating false hits.
Birth Dates & Addresses
Sound Politics Washington State Voter Database
http://www.soundpolitics.com/voterlookup.html
This service provides online access to a public release of the Washington State Voter Registration Database.
You can search it by address or name and find one particularly normally private piece of information; the
person’s complete date of birth. This is useful for elimination purposes and for confirmation that you are looking
at the correct person. Plus, if you do a block search you can find neighbors and apartment and condo
dwellers. The name search is statewide. Be sure to select a county first when using the address search and
follow the FAQ instructions at the bottom of the page about how to format the address information.
The site has not been updated since 2012 but is still a good resource for check for birth dates and
relationships. A monthly Voter Registration Database CD-ROM in tab-delimited format can be requested for
free from the Washington Secretary of State. http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/vrdb/
Birthdatabase.com
http://www.birthdatabase.com
Coverage is spotty; unsure of the source of the information.
1 Marriages, Deaths and Property
Washington Digital Archives
http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/
Death Index information for Washington is available at the Washington Digital Archives. Search by first and last
name but not SSN. Additionally, you can search for birth and marriage records, land records and more. Case
records from Chelan, Skagit and Snohomish County Superior Courts can be searched by keyword and/or case
number search for free but the full-text scans of documents require payment.
King County GIS Center – Parcel View 2.0
http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/GIS/PropResearch/ParcelViewer.aspx
Search King County real property by parcel number, address or street intersection. Includes a wealth of
information, such as legal description, prior sales history and property tax information. Many properties also
include pictures of the subject property taken from vantage points, such as driveways, that may not be
accessible from a public location.
King County Recorder’s Office
http://www.kingcounty.gov/business/Recorders/RecordsSearch.aspx
Search for real estate documents, survey, condominium and plat maps, liens, marriage certificates,
applications, and miscellaneous documents (wills, military discharges, notices, deeds, writs, judgments). Use
the Freeform keyword search box at the bottom of the search page to do a keyword search across all fields.
News Searches
Google News
http://news.google.com
Google News uses Google’s search to compile stories from over 25,000 world-wide news sources. Click on
Advanced news search (small black triangle in the search box) to filter by date, news source and location, as
well as standard Boolean operators.
Google News Archive Search
The Google News Archive is no longer available. However, you can filter News results by a custom date. From
news.google.com, run a search then click on the Search Tools option below the main search box. Several
links with pull-down arrows will appear. Click on the link labeled “Any Time”, then “Custom Range” and enter a
date range in the pop-up screen.
Google Newspapers
http://news.google.com/newspapers
Browse through older newspapers and do some post-1970s keyword searching for newspapers.
Yougotthenews.com
www.yougotthenews.com
Yougotthenews.com provides searching of 5000+ newspapers.
Small Town Newspapers
http://www.smalltownpapers.com
Browse and keyword search scanned images from over 250 small-town newspapers.
2 Criminal History
VINELink Victim Information and Notification Everyday National Victim Notification Network
http://www.vinelink.com/index.jsp
VINELink is the online version of VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), the National Victim
Notification Network. This service allows crime victims to obtain timely and reliable information about criminal
cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day.
Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public site
http://www.nsopr.gov/
Search by name across 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Indian Country. Advanced
searching by locality and/or zip code.
WA Department of Child Support Most Wanted List for Non-Payment of Child Support
https://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/esadcsmostwanted/MostWanted.asp
Includes first and last name search, browseable archive back to 1999 and picture with full name, last known
address, occupation, number and age of children and identifying features, such as tattoos and known aliases.
Courts
RECAP (Open Source PACER)
http://www.recapthelaw.org
RECAP is a free extension for Firefox that improves the experience of using PACER. A free archive of
previously downloaded PACER content is available for searching. A searchable archive is available at
http://archive.recapthelaw.org.
Washington State Court Records Search (docket only)
http://dw.courts.wa.gov/
Free search by name across the entire state or search by docket number or organization/business name within
a particular court. Access to docket information only. Seattle Municipal Court data does not always display on
the Washington Courts search so a separate search using the link below is a good idea.
Pierce County Legal Information Network Exchange
https://linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us/linxweb/Main.cfm
Search for civil, criminal and judgment court records, and find current jail inmates. Full-text court pleadings are
available for purchase. Co-defendant information is also listed.
Seattle Municipal Court Public information
http://web1.seattle.gov/courts/cpi/
Search options include defendant name, attorney name and vehicle plate number. Results include full birth
date and known aliases. New! View the full-text of documents from Seattle Municipal Court cases filed after
June 23, 2014. Use Internet Explorer for best viewing results.
https://web6.seattle.gov/courts/ECFPortal/Default.aspx
Google Scholar
http://google.scholar.com
Search full-text opinions from state and federal courts (including federal district courts). Coverage dates are
difficult to determine conclusively but it goes back at least until the 1950s for most jurisdictions, though
holdings for US Supreme Court cases go back much farther.
3 Businesses
Secretary of State – Corporation Division
www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/search.aspx
Corporations Division – Registration Data Lookup by Name or UBI. The registration data lookup allows one to
search for a corporation to determine if it is currently active in Washington. The record will indicate whether the
company is a for-profit or non-profit business, the type of corporation, and show the Registered Agent
information.
Department of Labor & Industries
http://www.lni.wa.gov/
Contractors, Electricians, and Plumbers Database - look up by business or owner name, city, UBI number, and
contractor registration number.
Vehicles
Emissions Test Report Search
http://www.emissiontestwa.com/e/TestRecordSearch.aspx
Search by license plate or VIN number to find emission report after July 1, 2002. Report includes year, make,
model, and VIN number of tested vehicle.
Social Media & Relationships
Facebook
www.facebook.com
Go to http://www.facebook.com/srch.php to search by name without registering as a user. Viewable
information will be limited. Registering includes providing a name and e-mail address. The new Graph Search
provides a lot of searching options.
LinkedIn.com
www.linkedin.com
Registration is required to see complete profiles. Employer information is often listed. Check your privacy
settings to determine what information about you is shared when you view someone else’s LinkedIn profile.
Topsy.com
http://topsy.com
Users of Topsy can search the social media site Twitter back to 2006. Users can research the reactions to
something at the time that it happened, locate discussion of a case, find people knowledgeable about a
particular subject, but also, if searching an account associated with a real person, learn what that person is
interested in, the times they are online, who they talk to most, and nearly limitless other information.
Researching Outside Your State
Black Book Online
http://www.blackbookonline.info/
This site is maintained by the author of “The Investigator’s Little Black Book.” The site is particularly robust,
with many good starting points, especially when researching outside of your home state.
PIbuzz.com
http://pibuzz.com/
California private investigator Tamara Thompson maintains pibuzz.com. It has links to hundreds of different
investigative websites, as well as useful tips and tricks.
4 Tips & Tricks for Online Sleuthing
Public Law Library of King County
October 10, 2014
Skip Tracing Checklist
List all the information you know…
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First, Middle and Last Names
Maiden and Married Last Names
Names of Ex Spouses
Nicknames or Aliases
High Schools and Colleges Attended
Military Service
Personal Hobbies
Known Relatives, Friends and Neighbors
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Place of Birth
Current and Former Addresses
Phone Numbers
Employment History
Businesses Owned
Email Addresses
Internet User Names and Handles
1
Starting Points
Pipl.com
Reference USA
Intelius.com
2
www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com Birth Dates and Addresses
Washington State Voter Database
www.birthdatabase.com
3
Marriages, Death & Property
WA Digital Archives
King County Parcel Viewer 2.0
King County Recorder’s Office 4
News Searches
Smalltownpapers.com
Criminal History
VINELink
5
National Sex Offender Search
DCS Most Wanted Program
Courts
archive.recapthelaw.org
6
Washington State Court Records
Pierce County Superior Court
Seattle Municipal Court Records 7
Google Scholar
Businesses
Corporation Search
Department of Labor & Industries
8
Vehicles
Emissions Test Report
Social Media & Relationships
www.facebook.com
www.linkedin.com
9
topsy.com
Researching Outside Your State
BlackBookOnline.info
pibuzz.com
10