Finding Old Friends : People-locating agencies, which pore over public records to locate long-lost chums, are in increasing demand.

Ever wonder what happened to that good friend from high school or college, the one who somehow got lost in the busyness of growing older?

Virginia Matheny, who graduated from North Hollywood High back in 1946, had long thought about her best friend from her teen-age years. She remembered all the good times they had had together: reading each other their diaries over the phone and sleeping over at each other’s houses, sharing every dream and every problem. Then each got married and Matheny’s friend moved overseas. Matheny completely lost track of her. But about two years ago, Matheny heard about an Orinda, Calif.-based firm, Old Friends, that searches public records and other databases to find people. One month later, she received her friend Betty’s phone number and address, at Lake Elsinore.

“As soon as we started talking, it was as if the years hadn’t taken place,” says Matheny, 66, of Granada Hills. “We were both very thrilled. We discussed everything that had gone on since we last saw each other.”

According to Michael Franks, who founded Old Friends three years ago, the aging of baby boomers and the fact that 20% of the population moves every year puts people-finding services increasingly in demand. Most of those who use Old Friends are between 35 and 55, and, on average, 24 years have passed since the comrades have been in contact. Franks founded Old Friends after realizing on a European backpacking trip that he missed his long-lost friends from Northwestern University, and tried in vain to find a company that conducted formalized friend searches.

Milo Speriglio, director and chief of Nick Harris Detectives, in Van Nuys, says there is great interest in hiring firms to use public records and other sources to connect with lost friends. While some people have issues beyond friendship--like trying to secure back child support or find a natural father--many of the search requests his firm receives are simply an effort to reconnect with an important person from the past.

Franks and Speriglio agree that the longer a duo has been out of contact, the easier it typically is for one of them to find the other. This is because time creates a longer paper trail with which to track someone, they say. People with unusual names are easier to locate than those with common ones, and men--because they do not change their surnames when they marry--are easier to find than women.

The cost of a search varies. At Old Friends, clients are asked to pay $50 upfront and an additional $50 if the person is found and gives permission to release a phone number and address to the searching friend.

At Nick Harris, a California search averages $88, plus a $25 discovery fee, and a nationwide effort runs $277, says Speriglio, adding that his company does not require permission from a lost or missing person to release information.

Detective firms ask a client to complete forms that provide as much information about the lost friend as possible, including birth date, names of parents and relatives, colleges attended, places of employment, and other details that could be helpful.

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Once the searching friend gets the phone number or address from the firm, Speriglio suggests taking an honest approach in making a reintroduction. He recommends saying something like, “I’ve been thinking about you for a long time and found a research service that could get me your address.”

Speriglio says some clients like to bump into their friend by accident--walking by his or her house or staging a chance meeting at work--but most are comfortable just phoning. For those seeking an old flame, search firms can use vital statistics and marriage data to report the friend’s marriage history and current status, often at no additional charge.

Why bother finding an old friend? Franks says there is something about the friendships made in youth that is special and hard to recreate in more mature relationships. He thinks, too, that reconnecting with old pals can contribute valuable insights about one’s past and one’s personality.

“When you’re talking to an old friend, you get a view of yourself years ago,” he says.

That’s what rekindling her high school friendship did for Virginia Matheny. “It’s like connecting the past to the present,” she says. “It makes more sense now to me--the caring that we felt--and I’ve missed that closeness. It’s as if the years had not gone by.”

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WHERE TO GO:

What: Old Friends Information Services.

Location: 1 Camino Sobrante, No. 21, Orinda, CA 94563.

Call: (800) 841-7938.

What: Nick Harris Detectives.

Location: 16917 Enadia Way, Van Nuys.

Call: (818) 343-6611.

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