Surely it has never been easier to search for your long lost family? Almost everyone has access to a computer now and is linked to the internet where they can log into geneological sites which enable them to trace their family tree by finding recorded births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Another possibility is to access sites which keep online copies of historical newspapers around the world. Just type in your relatives' name/s and if their name has ever appeared in that publication you can bring up information about them from decades ago.
Not to forget modern day social media sites. More & more people are opening accounts on Facebook or similar platforms to keep their "friends" up-to-date with all the details of their day-to-day lives, including photographs which are so easily obtainable now as almost everyone has a mobile phone with a camera which makes it so easy to take photos instantaneously, "selfies", (photos of yourself alone or with others), and send them off immediately to your group of "followers".
It is now also possible to trace your long lost family by submitting a sample of your DNA, which can then link you to someone you are unknowingly related to. How the world has advanced!
Perhaps I don't sound all that convinced, and that is because I believe from personal experience that going down the path of finding out about long lost family is like a two-edged sword. It can lead to great happines but also to great unhappiness, as I think my book, "Mother Was A Stranger", amply demonstrates.
I know my ancestors quite well. I was born to a young mother and had all of my grandparents in my life as well as to great-grandparents that I recall affectionately. I wish I knew more about my ancestors further back, but we do have a good family history by both my younger brother and my cousin. Modern tools surely would have helped us find my mother's only brother who left five children from two families and disappeared with a suspected woman who left five children, too.
A private eye quickly found them a year after her death and about 15 after his, because she didn't change her name or her Social Security number. The house they lived in was left alone by their neighbors they gave it to, so there were pictures and papers for the children to gather.
I would suggest MyLife.com for finding anyone still alive in the United States. They send a lot of ads after you leave them, but I'm sure they will stop if you request it.
Ron