There also shades of different meanings. 'Locate' implies that you're predominately interested in the object being sought but 'localize' suggests you're more i

There also shades of different meanings. 'Locate' implies that you're predominately interested in the object being sought but 'localize' suggests you're more interested in the place where it is/was. I think localize can also be less-than-exact if it rules out some plausible locations, but it seems odd to partially 'locate' something. It's used a lot in neurology/neuroscience for the process of identifying where (e.g.) a tumor is or the brain structures on which a particular behavior or process depend.