When you think of private detectives like , you probably don’t think of missing heirs, do you? No you’ve got your head wrapped up in crimes and great mysteries and cheating spouses.
In actuality, because we have such great access to restricted databases, we are often called upon to locate a missing person. Often, the case has to do with estranged family members and inheritances.
We got a call from an attorney who was handling a large estate. The estate couldn’t be closed because one of the beneficiaries was missing. He was one of two siblings and his sister hadn’t talked to him for years. She had no idea where he was, so we were asked to embark on a missing person investigation.
There are a lot of ways to find a missing person, but it all depends on the twists and turns that are presented during the investigation. We started by checking police records and discovered he’d been arrested several times for vagrancy in the not too distant past. That gave us a clue that he was still in the area at least, but there was a strong indication that he was homeless.
That was supported by the lack of employment records and other records such as property ownership and automobile registration. That also meant we wouldn’t have a place of residence, which meant we were on the streets, too, investigation wise.
We started pounding the pavement. We checked the shelters, put up notices in the missions and at the soup kitchens. Eventually we found him. He was living under a bridge.
We were able to provide the attorney with the information he needed and connected the brother and sister once again. The attorney was able to close out the estate, the homeless man’s situation changed dramatically. Our job was done.
Private investigators do a lot more than the general public might think. We do get involved with criminal and civil investigations, but we also locate missing persons. Sometimes the missing person may have died years before. Sometimes they are just a few miles away, or they can be across the nation.
Our business is finding the truth – whatever the truth may be.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
