How difficult is it to locate an individual? Sometimes just googling their name can produce results if that person is active on social sites, is well known, has been in the news or is deceased. If the individual is private, has gotten married and/or changed their name or has a very common name it becomes more difficult. All in InvestigationsAll in Investigations, dba is called upon frequently to locate an heir, a beneficiary, a witness, family member or a friend with whom contact was lost.
There is a method in locating someone. It begins with good databases that allow an Investigator access to information that is not public or truncated for privacy. Locating starts with a name, a possible previous address, a year of birth or a city or state. We are asked what sources we use during our investigation; how do we determine if we have found the right person, what if they cannot be found? Are we allowed to provide personal information about an individual? How long is the process and what does it cost?
We utilize Paid Databases available to the legal profession and private investigators. We are vetted to have access to these databases and agree that the information obtained will be used in a legal manner. We have access to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Driving History & Registration Records), Court Records, Social Security Numbers, Dates of Birth, relatives, and associates of the person we are locating. From this information, we can filter through individuals who are not possible candidates and narrow our search to possible dates of birth and previous residential addresses. We have a high rate of success in locating people, but there is a possibility that the individual may not be found. We had a case to locate a homeless person, it took months, be we were successful.
We specialize in locating heirs, beneficiaries and witnesses for law firms. We have located lost loves, reconnected families and friends. We do not provide personal or confidential information to Clients when finding family members and long-lost friends. For this type of location, we first contact the individual we are locating and obtain permission from them to forward their information and/or provide them with our Client’s contact information. The turn-around-time can be days or weeks, it depends upon the amount of information the Client can provide.
For Professional Legal Clients, we have successfully located heirs, beneficiaries and witnesses, inside and outside the US, and provided their contact information such as addresses, telephone numbers, emails and if requested obtain witness statements.
Brenda J. McGinley
