In the big bad world of shadow run, what means do we have of finding people?

How do I pinpoint a location of a person? If the person is using a fake sin, fake name even.

I thought about using a Sleuth sprite to run traceroute until it found the guy, but I don't even have anything to start him on. I've got a real name, but is that good enough? anybody trying to hide would be using something false.

What about magical tracking?

How do you find the missing person?

Finding a missing person is something you often have to do in Shadowrun. Good ideas are:

* Matrix: If he's got a SIN, be it real or fake, he leaves a trail you can follow. If he's got a commlink, he's got a trail you can follow. Knowing which trail to follow is the hard part, though. Looking for the SIN, or the commcode might be a solution. Another way is to look for some nodes you know he might go to (physically or in the Matrix). Watch out, though, since the target can still reroute his signal and edit the logs.
* Social: He's got contacts and even if he might try not to contact them, if he's on the run he'll probably need some favors. Some of his contacts might know where he is or how to contact him. You could also have their nodes under surveillance so that you could listen to their conversation or track the target if he ever calls his contact.
* Tech: Hack the camera system in a place where you think he might be and run a face recognition software to warn you if he shows up.
* Magic: Spirits with the Search power can look for someone if you know his aura. If you've got something from his body or something that belongs to him with some emotional bond, you might try to find him using a ritual. I don't remember the exact rules but it's very powerful... as long as the target isn't hiding behind a barrier or hasn't changed his aura (HMHVV, cyberzombification, death, trip to a metaplane...)
* Datasearch: check for someone like him at the morgue, at the airport, or at the borders or at any other place where he might have been and might have been registered.
* Let the Star handle the job: have your hacker issue a warrant for him.

If all else fails, baiting might work: kidnap his friends or family, spread rumors about something that could interest him...

Blade has pretty much covered this. With a real SIN the job is easy. If running a fake SIN find where they got it, so you know what it is and trace it. If they are hiding with no SIN in a Z Zone, use your contacts/rep and their rep to find them.

With wilderness escapes your down to physical tracking, even if high tech like sattelite tracking.

Profile your mark. What do they know,how they think and how would they react. This gives the starting places to use Blades methods.

Since others have already contributed the good stuff, all I have to add is:

"Marco..."

"Marco..."

"Marco..."

I don't get it.

Marco Polo is a pool game. One person has to wander around with their eyes closed saying marco and they people they are trying to find have to say polo.

This is one of the strengths of Watcher Spirits, too. You can send a small army of them out to find anyone you like in addition to bigger, badder spirits you have on the job.

The trick in the Sixth World is to not get found. That's why Prime Runners get the big bucks.