If someone dies unexpectedly, how do you find out?

The internet doesn't really live up to its reputation in that regard. There's all kinds of things that never end up on the web, or if they do its so obscure you won't find it unless you know where it is already. If someone has an obituary in a random little newspaper you've never heard of in a town you might not associate with the person who died because they lived in your city for decades, and that town is on the other side of the country, even if that obituary does get indexed it's not an easy find unless they have a very unique name. I have a friend who moved less than 50 miles away a few years ago and I found out he died earlier this year, I've never been able to find his obituary. There may not even be one, and if there is it could be published in any number of different places because he lived in a lot of different places. I think most of the people I've known who have died haven't had an obituary at all, or if they did I wasn't aware of it. It costs money to get them published and I don't think it's a priority for a lot of people after someone has died. Even if they do get published they aren't always easy to find. This is in the US at least, maybe things are different in other countries.