What Ever Happened To …..?

Family and friends are at the forefront of our thoughts, especially so at this time of the year. Nostalgia plays a part in the conversations we have as we gather around the dining room table and talk about the past. Inevitably someone will bring up someone they have not seen or heard from for some time.

People’s lives take different directions and unfortunately, over the years and through life’s circumstances, people lose touch with one another. As we get older, we tend to think more about people from our past, especially those that we wish we had kept in touch with.

Luckily, with the availability of the internet, tracking someone down that you would like to reconnect with is not that difficult. Sometimes it’s as easy as doing a search on Facebook or “googling” their name. Sometimes it’s more difficult, especially if many years have passed and the person you are looking for has a very common name or it is likely they have had a name change. This is when you might want to hire an experienced professional, such as a licensed private investigator, to assist you. Not only are they very adept at conducting the searches that are more difficult and know what to search, where to search, and how to search - they generally have more information resources available to them.

If you are presently searching for someone and you have any questions feel free to post those questions here. We are happy to answer any questions that might help you in your search.  Or, if you have a search story that you would like to share, we would love to hear about it. Just post it in our comments section.

Solving Problems

I spoke to a potential client yesterday, a private individual, and by that I mean someone who is not an attorney, a business owner, an insurance claims adjuster, or a corporate rep. Our conversation started much the same as most of my conversations do with private clients, in that her first words were, “I’m a little nervous. I feel so funny calling you. I’ve never called a private investigator before.”

I always try to reassure people that I understand how they feel and make them feel more comfortable speaking with me. After all, I realize what it took for them to actually call me. The truth is that the vast majority of people, at some point in their lives, could really use the services of a private investigator, but not everyone picks up the telephone to call one.

Maybe it would help to think of a private investigator as a professional problem solver. After all, that is what we really do; we help people solve their problems. We locate what they can’t or don’t know how to find. We help them to find the answers to questions they have that need answering. We obtain the facts they need to make good decisions for themselves, their families, their businesses and their lives. And we gather the evidence they need to assist them with litigation they are involved in or may become involved in.

Our clients are real people with real problems who have come to us for help. And we truly care about helping them.

By the way, that potential client who was nervous and felt funny about calling a private investigator – it took her less than a minute to get real comfortable talking to me about her problem. She is no longer a potential client. She is now my client and I am really looking forward to solving her problem for her.

Florida Licensed Private Investigator Mark Feegle exemplifies the true integrity and professionalism that exists in our industry today.

Private Investigator Saves Two Children From Abuse and Neglect

http://pursuitmag.com/private-investigator-saves-two-children-from-abuse-and-neglect/

Was an innocent man executed in the state of Texas and a cover up attempted by it's governor, a man who is attempting to become the Republican nominee for President??

Governor Perry's Cover Up of the Willingham Execution

http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4647%3Agovernor-perrys-cover-up-of-the-willingham-execution&catid=74%3Ajudicial-watch&Itemid=100

Stop Federal Records Destruction

     As reported by ISPLA (Investigative and Security Professionals for Legislative Action), the Administrative Office (AO) of the United States Courts has announced that on April 1, 2011, it will begin destroying archived records of federal district court cases which were filed after 1969 and which were archived during the period 1970 to 1995.
     According to a post on ISPLA's website (http://www.ispla.org/) "When a case filed in the district court has been closed, the file is maintained by the District Court for a period of time, but it is ultimately transferred to the National Archives. To reduce the cost of preserving these records, the AO has decided to discard approximately 80% of them. The AO has no plans to preserve these records electronically. Only the Judgments and the docket sheets of the discarded cases will be kept."  The post goes on to say that "the wanton destruction of an entire generation of public records is utterly unacceptable and action must be taken to prohibit this from occurring."

Petitions by iPetitions.com
Get Widget

A Must Read For Anyone Who Uses a SmartPhone

Don't bank on your phone - it could be hacked by Zeus "trogan horse." http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/22/smartphones-hacked-zeus-malware

How Good Are The Instant Background Check Sites On The Internet?

From time to time we receive telephone calls from people that would like us to do a background check. One of the questions we are asked is if we use the “Instant Background Check” pay sites that you find on the internet (the answer is NO!). Often they have just used their credit card to order one online that gave them little or old information about their subject, none of which is even verified to be accurate for the subject in question. What they are provided with is not an actual background check and they have essentially wasted their money.


In addition, despite claims made online from companies who state they have access to a complete and accurate “National Database of Criminal Records Information” the reality is that NO SUCH DATABASE exists. To accurately search for criminal records, it must be done at the county level.

When we conduct a background check we start by verifying that the subject’s personal identifying information that was provided to us initially is correct, such as name, address, date of birth or social security number. This information is used during research to verify that the records we are looking at belong to the person in question and not someone who shares the same name. We then research, verify and analyze data collected from a wide range of sources, including physically locating and inspecting documents at the courthouse, insuring that the information is up to date and accurate.

Yes, our fee is higher for a background check than what you see advertised for the “Instant Background Check” and you do not get your information “instantly”. But what you do get is a complete, accurate and up to date background check that you can depend on and trust, along with the security of knowing that you are not wasting your money. The choice is yours.

Privacy and Confidentiality

It is not only important to do the job sufficiently and successfully, but to do the job without upsetting or damaging anyone outside of the scope of the investigation. During the course of an investigation we may uncover information that may not be associated with or pertain to the actual investigation being conducted. That information will not make it to the clients report. We are committed to upholding the privacy laws and rights of all people and believe that the confidentiality and privacy that we guaranteed our clients is also guaranteed to those individuals. The privacy of those individuals deserves our protection as well as our clients.

DIY (Do It Yourself) Surveillance - Is It Legal?

* You have a friend who suspects her ex-husband is keeping company with some people of questionable character and may even be involved in some drug activity. She is really concerned for her child who spends every other weekend with him. She asks you if you will follow him around one weekend to see what he is up to. You really want to help, but should you agree to do it?

* Your business has really been thriving, so much so that you have hired several new employees in the last several months. Recently some of your stock has gone missing and there really isn't a logical explanation for what could have happened to it. As bad as it makes you feel, you suspect one of your employees is stealing and you have thought about following them after work to see if you can prove they are. You're justified in doing this, aren't you?

* Your mom has a new man in her life and she seems so happy, but you're really concerned for her. The relationship turned serious way too fast and it seems as though this man appeared out of nowhere. You don’t think he is being truthful about who he is or what he does. Your husband said he would follow the guy around for a few days and see what he is doing when he is not with your Mom. You’re really tempted by his offer - after all, both of you are just trying to protect your Mom, right?

Whether you need proof of infidelity, fraud, employee theft, cohabitation, neglect or drug activity there is simply no better way to document facts than with the irrefutable video or photographic evidence obtained during surveillance.

So is it really legal to follow someone around and document their activities?

The answer is yes, providing that the surveillance is conducted by law enforcement personnel or by a licensed private investigator for a legitimate and legally permissible purpose and it is conducted in a discrete, reasonable and lawful manner.

This means that unless you are an officer of the law conducting surveillance during the course of your job, or a licensed private investigator that has been retained by a client for the purpose of conducting surveillance, it is not legal for you (or a family member, a friend, or a friend of a friend), to follow someone around. In fact, it could be construed as stalking.  So when it comes to surveillance investigations, there is no such thing as DIY (Do It Yourself). You must hire a licensed private investigator to conduct the surveillance investigation for you.