[Smidychick]

I believe my uncle is in the witness protection program, My uncle died a few years ago, I miss him very much he is my favorite uncle, My mother got a very mysterious phone call and she could have sworn it was my uncle Ken, No she knows, I need to find out that he is OK and it was just a mistake and that he is alive, is there any way to find out information on people in the witness protection program?

[startover22]

I hope not, cause if you can find him, them "they" could find him. Don't put him in danger. Sorry you miss him. It is just better that he stays being missed than unprotected.

[grammadidi]

I don't know the answer to your question, and although I understand that you miss him incredibly, if you love him you must realize that if you attempted to find him if he was in the Witness Protection Program you could actually bring him harm? People in the Witness Protection Program are not allowed to contact unprotected family members. That is because not only is the 'witness' in need of protection, but their family could be endangered if there is contact.

Do you realize that the Witness Protection Program is primarily there for witnesses against people involved in organized crime and terrorism? I think that is far too dangerous to mess with.

I did see on How Stuff Works - How Witness Protection Works that "Once assimilated into their community, contact with the government is only required once per year. Witnesses also need to make contact with the government if they move. Any other contact with witnesses must be requested through the OEO or Marshals Service."

Hope this information helps in some way.

Didi

[Fr_Chuck]

There were some old threads on here some months ago, and a poster who thought they knew more than the actual people who worked in the system. But you can find those posts by searching on the link at the top of the page.

First there are two levels of witness protection, state and federal. The state does not hide the people as well as the federal, but does get them moved with new ID.

In the federal system, new social security numbers and even past work history is developed to put retirement dollars into their new SS account, to match what they may have had in their old number.
Next they get new ID, new birth certificates all filed and placed in the state records, with no real way to know they were just placed in file.

Next I will take the federal system, the state will be somewhat similar.
The witness protection person, will either be a criminal, or just a bystander, more often they are acutally another criminal, who trades evidence for a new ID, but many will still have to do time in a Federal Prison under a new ID ( and may be given even another ID after they leave the prison.) In prison along with regular inmates they learn new job skills often. Since many inmates have a protectoni list, list of other inmates due to gang or crime family connection can not be in contact with each other, one never knows why they can not be around other certain inmates.

But once they are done at trial, establised in a new job, in a new city then that is about it, the Government no longer has much to do with them. And some do break cover and contact a family member, but they risk their life in doing it. So a family member trying to find that family member will be putting that person at risk, so if you love that family member, you leave them alone, if they are alive, they want to live,

But normally if the one person goes into the system, they don't fake the death, the person has to testify at the bad guys trial, so they know they are alive and know they are going into the program, The idea of killing them off is mostly the movies and not real life,
Since they are sitting in court, and pointing their finger at the person being tried, and have to be available to testify at a appeal, the bad buy knows they are alive, For the purpose of ending that old ID, they may show them dead for purpose of doing away with the drivers license, social security card and the such.

But for example if you could find them, then a millionaire drug lord could must easier than you find the ones they want.

So only a very few people within the Federal Marshals service knows the ID of the people, and where they are at. It will not be in court records, it will not be available at the social security office, no the old number does not lead you to the new number

If this person calls and breaks the rules, then of course you can trace phone numbers and the such But unless the break the rules, you will never find them.

I had dealings with the program at the Fed level for a short time and believe me the punishment is so serious no agent would ever break and tell.

The state systems are not as good but then the crimes are not as seroius either.