People finding sites?

[Benzadmiral]

Hey, all,

I've just run across one of those "People Search" sites, this one called Intelius. On a whim, I searched for an old buddy of mine who lived at the time of Katrina just a few miles north of the Gulf in Mississippi. Searches after the storm on the various "Have you any word of . . .?" sites yielded me nothing, which is why I hadn't gotten in touch with him.

Now this Intelius site gives me (for free) a name, plus relatives whose names are right and an age which checks. It says there are 4 addresses for him in no less than 3 towns in MS and FL (which makes sense; I had 2 addresses during the Katrina "vacation").

Is this worth spending anywhere from $7.95 for a one-time search, or up to $20 for a 24-hour pass to the site? Or could I find the info somewhere else for free?

While I'm at it, why are some records free, but others you have to pay for? Are the latter the modern-day equivalent of "unlisted," and therefore WhitePages.com can't display them, but the premium sites can?
.