How Not to Be Found

Katrina S. Forest

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So, I'm writing a story where my magical protagonist and her magical sister have spent most of their several-centuries-long lifespans trying to avoid capture by an evil trio of women out to kill them. And quite honestly, I'm a bit lost as to how to begin research on the topic of "stuff to do when you don't want to be found." I can think of basic stuff like use cash, not credit cards, and drive, don't take a plane, but I want to go into finer details than that. They obviously move around a lot, but how would they go about settling in a new place without drawing attention to themselves? What steps would they take to change their identities when needed? (They can alter their appearances slightly, but it is an effort on their part, and not something they can do 24/7.) They have a moderate amount of income, having saved many old coins and antiques over the years, but not endless cash at their disposal.

And, on the other side of the coin, what sorts of methods would my villains use to track them down? They have considerably more money and influence than the protagonists, not to mention a bit of magic of their own.

I'm not expecting people here to fill me in on every plot detail I'll need, but if you could at least recommend some reading material so I can head off in the right direction? (Maybe some novels that have a character on the run who actually uses reasonable methods of staying under the radar?)

On a final note, this is one of those universes where no one else knows magic exists, so my main character trying to involve the police in any way is not going to fly. ^_^

Thank you in advance!
 
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jeseymour

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I'm curious as to how you think they would draw attention to themselves when moving around. Just move to a big city, especially in the northeast, and nobody will bother you. Even small towns, if you're quiet and don't bother anybody, nobody will bother you. What sort of universe are you talking about here? Is there google? A phone book? Obviously your two sisters don't have children to enroll in school. Do they have a way to fake a birth certificate? How do the other women search for them? I think it's fairly easy to fly under the radar as long as you don't do anything stupid like break up a robbery and get yourself on the evening news. Again, probably easier to be anonymous in a big city than a tiny town, but around here, even in a tiny town, you can stay fairly anonymous if that's what you want. People mind their own business. My novels do involve a fugitive, and he really doesn't go to any extraordinary lengths, and he is found because somebody turns him in. But if nobody knows who your fugitives really are, who's to turn them in? Look at Whitey Bulger - how many years was he on the run? Wasn't until the US Marshals started looking for him that he got found.
 

ScienceFictionMommy

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They obviously move around a lot, but how would they go about settling in a new place without drawing attention to themselves?

Reside in the shadier parts of town.

Seriously. I don't consider my neighborhood to be all that shady, but it certainly isn't a utopian suburbia. There are a lot of rentals on our street, and people are moving in and moving out on a fairly regular basis. And to be honest, whether or not I meet them depends entirely on how friendly they are (or possibly whether or not we see them when I'm outside with my kids, because my kids will say 'hello' to anyone.) So if they look for places to live in low-income, high-turnaround areas, they probably won't draw much attention. They may also want to look for places without many kids and maintain an aloof attitude when out and about if they don't want to get to know the neighbors at all.
 

shadowwalker

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Google "living off the grid" to start, and "how to disappear". There's tons of information out there, both on the net and in books. For the other half, contact law enforcement public liaison or private investigators.
 

Katrina S. Forest

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Thanks for the advice so far. This is our modern universe; there just happen to be a couple magical creatures roaming around it trying to resolve a centuries-long feud without our knowledge. ^_^

I'm not putting it past my villains to try and get the protagonists arrested, if they think that would be a useful way to find them.

I'll also have to think of a few consistent habits the girls might have even through identity changes. (Looking at the articles on Bulger, it seems he was finally caught after authorities put out information on his girlfriend and the types of places she frequented.)

Thanks for the start. I'll come back to this thread for more specifics if I need them and hold off my brainstorming for The Sandbox. :)
 

blackrose602

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Disappearing off the grid is really easy. I knew a ton of people who did it in New Orleans, and it actually caused a bunch of problems when Katrina went through and every dispersed to the four winds. Not so easy trying to find "Shadow (the tarot reader not the bicycle delivery guy)" or "Raven (the white female bartender not the older black gentleman or the white male performance artist)" on Red Cross shelter lists.

I never did it personally, but from what I know from my friends:

1) Choose towns that have a high tolerance for and reasonably large population of: street performers, sidewalk artists, musicians, tarot readers, street kids, gutter punks and older homeless. New Orleans, New York (during the summer), Seattle and Las Vegas are favorites among that population, but anywhere that's tolerant will work.

2) Choose a not too common but not too weird nickname: Besides the above mentioned Ravens and Shadows, I knew a Dragon and a Pixie and a Mama Cat and a Worry and so many more. Go by that exclusively, except maybe with extremely trusted friends (who are sworn to secrecy).

3) Get rid of your driver's license. Just stop renewing. Walk or take the bus. For city to city transport, hop a train (in a boxcar like the hobos did) or hitchhike.

4) Work under the table for places that are happy to call you by your nickname and pay in cash. Many dive bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the above named cities fit the bill. Other alternatives include the more entrepreneurial fortune telling/tarot/palmistry, balloon artists, mimes, visual artists selling on the street corner, tap dancers with bottle caps glued to their shoes, and street musicians.

5) Rent a place to live by the week or by the month, also in cash, also under your nickname, from a shady landlord who won't ask questions. There's plenty of them over the shops on busy tourist roads (like Decatur Street in New Orleans' French Quarter). Or live with friends, or move into a squat.

6) Form a tribe with the other off-the-grid people in your city. IME, they are almost without fail very tight-knit and damn near willing to damn near die for each other. If your searchers come poking around asking questions, the tribe will make sure they find nary a whiff (and might be highly inclined to make trouble for the searchers).

7) Related to 6: In the real, modern world, the vast majority of people I've met in this situation believe in magic to some extent. Many are pagans, some are self-styled "vampires," tons believe in ghosts. Have them use it to their advantage to get favors or whatever they need. Most people in their tribe will fall somewhere between skeptic and true believer, but will think it's really freaking cool either way.

8) When you're ready to move on, go. Wash, rinse, repeat in the next city. Mention some of your friends in the previous city to make acceptance easier to gain in the next one.

HTH. Happy to answer questions!
 

Russell Secord

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One (not so simple) way to disappear is to assume another identity. People do it all the time, they just walk away from their old lives. Some fake their own deaths or disappearances, some don't.

Move to another city. Fake a birth certificate and build an identity out of it. It's easier than you might think.

The hard part is changing your habits. That's how PIs often find skips. You can go to all the trouble of creating a new life, but if you subscribe to all the same magazines you did before, you hoist a flag. Too many flags and you're too easy to find.
 

ArtsyAmy

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If they depend on selling old coins and antiques to get money to live off of, could the villains track them down through those sales? Maybe your protagonists could have a friend from way back whom the villains don't know about--someone who could help them financially. Maybe their friend even has a cabin off in the woods where they can stay, where they'd be undetectable? Is that overused?
 

Squids

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It's very easy. I've done it.

1) Move to a big city
2) Pick a fake name
3) Find a way to make money that doesn't require tax info/SSN/etc. I was a musician--pays cash most of the time, and no one gives a flying rat's ass what you call yourself
4) Pre-paid phones
5) Fake IDs for when you need them
6) Buses/cabs/subway means you don't need real documentation for a vehicle
7) Move in with a roommate off Craig's List, and you won't have to worry about being on a lease or any of that crap
8) Don't make waves

It's really that easy. The crappier the neighborhood and the more under-the-table the job, the better.
 

Katrina S. Forest

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Just wanted to pop into say thanks for all the suggestions! I'm moving onto the synopsis stage with this, and I've got some good ideas for how my characters are going to try to stay hidden (and, of course, how the villains are going to make that very difficult.) ^_^