Les -
If you have the VIN, try
www.abika.com - I think that's the address of the site I used - not sure if there are better sites, but don't have experience with them. It wasn't cheap ($100?), and it took a while, but it was worth it for me. I'm not sure if/how they can give out info for the current or past owners; privacy laws might prevent that. I was just seaching to see if the VIN I had came back as stolen, totaled, etc. Might want to check with them to see what their capabilities are.
Good luck,
Scott