Even the best databases can be useless if all you have is a persons first name. How many “Amandas” are there?
A lot of the success anyone has in a search will depend on how many unique pieces of information you have about your subject. Generally speaking, some things that help describe a person are a middle initial, an email address, a social security number, a drivers’ license or the license plate of a vehicle you know your subject owns. Each one of these is unique to the individual you are trying to find, and they help to eliminate the others – Sherlock Holmes described his famous method of deduction this way: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true.” Unique identifiers help you eliminate the impossible.
