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<DIV>First, define "missing persons". I'm not so certain
that attempting to locate an individual that someone has lost
touch with would be considered to be searching for a "missing
person" under any state law. The person usually is not "missing" in
any sense of that word. Adoption searches are not for "missing
people." Most of the searches described in this thread have not concerned
"missing persons" in the true sense of that phrase.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Second, adoption searches have been mentioned in connection with this
thread for some reason or other. Adoption searches are some of the most
personally rewarding work that a genealogist can do. In one case an
individual had been searching for forty years for her biological parents. Within
three hours of starting (with more than a bit of luck) I was able to
complete that search. You simply can't imagine what a successful search means to
someone in that situation. There is nothing comparable to it. I
also have personal experience in this regard in that a member of my family
was the subject of such a search, so I've experienced the process from both
sides. To say I am sensitive to all that is involved in this work would be
an understatement. And as I've stated, my safeguards more than meet any
legal or privacy requirements. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The terrible outcomes that have been mentioned are very rare. For
every one, there are hundreds of positive outcomes. But you can't take on
this type of work (even the adoption searches) without serious consideration and
proper procedures. I don't think it's helpful to exaggerate the
chances of something terrible happening. </DIV>
<DIV>Larry</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=DonnDevine@aol.com
href="mailto:DonnDevine@aol.com">DonnDevine@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=apgpubliclist@apgen.org
href="mailto:apgpubliclist@apgen.org">apgpubliclist@apgen.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, September 20, 2009 10:56
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [APG Public List]
Genealogical vs. Non-genealogical [TracingLiving Descendants]</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>One more pitfall that may arise in searching foor living people hasn't
yet been mentioned in this thread. Vecause of the many risks that have already
been touched upom, searches for living people may be restricted under state
law. Many states define searching for missing living people as
private investigation, and in order to do so legally, the searcher
must pass a state examination and be properly licensed.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The skills and methods necessary are the same ones genealogists
use routinely. However, before accepting such work, a genealogist needs to
consider not only all the potential problems mentioned earlier, but also
whether it is permitted in each of the states involved without a
Private Investigator (PI) license.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial PTSIZE="10" FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Donn
Devine, CG, CGL<BR>Wilmington DE <BR><BR>CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and
Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for
Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after
periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent &
Trademark Office.</FONT></DIV>
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