Being The Locator My Way....

One of the realities of life certainly translates directly to the realities of this job.
I was contacted by a concerned mother who had no idea where her daughter was or even if she was still alive.
The mother explained that her daughter had always been a discipline problem and they had not always gotten along. The mother further explained that she did love her daughter and had always been concerned for her well being, but the daughter was out of control.
After a lengthy discussion with the mother I decided to attempt to locate the daughter. I explained that since the daughter was now an adult, if I found her it would be up to her to decide if the mother was given the locate information and allowed to contact the daughter. It was agreed and I began the case.
Over the course of the next several days I finally picked up a bit of a trail and began to follow it. This trail would carry me across the United States and was made more difficult due to several marriages and the fact that no social security number had ever been issued when the daughter left home. Did I mention that she had been missing for more than twenty five years?
With another week passing by I was finally able to locate a telephone number that was believed to be the current residence of the daughter. Mom was being patient and seemed pleased that the trail might be closing in on her daughter.
After many attempts to call the telephone number with no answer, finally a female answered and it was indeed the missing daughter. As I introduced myself and explained why I was contacting her she became very quiet and listened carefully.
I described the information I had been given by the mom and I explained that no contact would be made without her approval. I told her she was in complete control of the situation as it should always be. After carefully listening to me she very quietly and calmly began explaining why she ran away from home and why she had never attempted to contact her mother.
The daughter explained that when she was twelve years old her mother had remarried a man with a son that was two years older than she was. Everything started off well enough, but soon the stepson began to do thing to her that were not right. She went to her mother about it but was told not to say anything as it might upset the stepfather.
Over the next year thing only got worse and eventually she was raped by her stepbrother. The mother would do nothing to protect her and then the worst thing imaginable happened. The stepfather also began abusing her. Once again the mother told her to keep her mouth shut.
By the time she was fifteen, she couldn't take it anymore and late one night she slipped out of the house and began to live a life that carried her clear across the country and in and out of situations that no teenage girl should have to endure.
After hearing the daughter's story it became a bit clearer to me about the mother's attitude in talking with her and when I went back to her with a response from the daughter, she didn't seem at all surprised or upset.
The daughter did not want her whereabouts revealed to her mother. She did want her mother's address so she could finally get some closure but on her own terms. I don't know how it all finally ended but I did my job and did it appropriately.
http://www.mcconnellinvestigations.com

Drinking and Driving with Children.....

Here's a great case story.
I was hired by a hard working man with two beautiful daughters. He had tried many times to provide them with a loving family home but every time was denied custody by family court. Main reason, his ex-wife had a great job and painted a beautiful picture of a doting mother who provided well for her daughters and wanted full control. Here is what happened.
Surveillance of this wonderful mother revealed she had a serious drinking problem. She was so bad that when she did drink she always covered it up. This included while she was working, driving and caring for her children. A big break in the case came when the father received a call from a friend. The friend stated that she believed the mother to be drinking heavily. She smelled of alcohol many times but still had her daughters and put them in her car and drove away. The friend, being a mother herself could no longer take a chance being silent.
She made a call to the children's father with this news, deeply concerned that the mother could have an accident and hurt, possibly even kill his daughters. The father not knowing what to do next called me with the news. I asked the father if he was sure he could trust this person who gave him the information. He said he was sure. The new plan would be to try and plan a traffic check when the mother was seen leaving a local bar she liked to hang out at.
I left my office and headed the bar to set and watch for her to show up. Just as she did every evening after work, she showed up and went inside. As luck would have it, I just happened to see a Highway Patrol Officer sitting at a vehicle inspection station just a block from where I had set up surveillance for the vehicle.
I took a big chance, traveled to the officer and plead my case about the mother. Explained that this had been going on for a while but circumstances prevented her from being checked.
To my advantage the officer agreed to look for the vehicle. Hopefully she was going to go home. In just a few minutes, I saw the vehicle approaching. I watched as the officer pulled out behind her. It didn't take long for him to have probable cause to pull her over as she was all over the road.
As both vehicles passed my video camera, the officer lit her up with his lights and pulled her over right in front of me! What a great video. She was pulled over, asked to do a sobriety test at roadside and was arrested and taken to jail. Her vehicle was towed and all was captured on video for the judge.
As soon as I could, I reported to the father. I advised him to contact his attorney and ask for an emergency hearing for temporary custody until things could be settled. He did as instructed. I made a few calls and found out that the mother was booked and spent the night in jail due to her blood alcohol level.
Today I am happy to report, girls live with their father, happy and healthy. They see their mother for visitation. Good ending! Safety for ANY CHILD is always priority in any investigation I do. Always taking time to discover just who is the better parent. I have found that their are a lot of deserving fathers out there, just some never get the chance to prove it. Good luck to all that are in this situation.
http://www.mcconnellinvestigations.com/

A Great Cheaters Story!!

I received a call from a guy who thought his wife was cheating on him. He asked if I would follow his wife after he left to go to work and see what she was up to while he was at work.
The man was convinced that as soon as he left for work she was meeting her lover and returning home just before he did in the evenings.
I took the case. The next morning I was set up on their house. As I was told, the husband left for work, the dutiful wife following him to his car, kisses him goodbye and sent him on his way.
Within an hour she was out of the house, all dressed up and in her car. I pulled out behind her and began following.
Out of the neighborhood, down the street, straight into four lane traffic and stopped by a traffic light. Two cars back I could only watch her as she pulled away. I lost her. I searched the area, checked out a couple hotels, she was gone.
That afternoon, an hour before her husband was due home from work, she pulls in, goes inside and according to the husband has dinner waiting for him. Quite the little planner.
I decided to try again the very next morning. Next day, same thing. Husband leaves and one hour later the wife was dressed and out the door. I began to follow her. This time onto the four lane I paralleled her, several blocks traveled and all is going well. Suddenly, out of no where a car stops right in front of me and blocks the road as I stop and my target keeps on going. I can not believe I have lost her again. I decide to peel off for a while and check back just before time for her to return home. Just as the day before, she arrives an hour before the husband, goes inside and makes dinner. I'm thinking, she has got it made!
A new day, determined that no matter what has to happen, I will not lose her today. Same as before, the husband leaves for work, one hour later the wife is dressed and out the door. This morning all goes well. Traffic moves in my favor, lights all green and she is positioned one car in front of my vehicle, things couldn't be more perfect.
Ten miles up the road she takes a right, ah! I think we are closing in. She takes another right and passes by a hotel but pulls into a small office complex next door. I'm thinking, she's going to stash her car and he's going to pick her up. I've seen this too many times! I park where I can observe and get some pictures.
She gets out of her vehicle and goes into the small office. Ah ha! she's going to meet someone inside.
She hangs up her coat and puts her purse in a desk drawer. What's going on? She sits down at the desk and answers the phone! Unbelievably she stays all day! End of the day, she gets up leaves the office, gets into her vehicle and drives home. She starts dinner and happily meets her husband. I am confused. I go home to think things over and decide to watch her again the next morning and see what happens.
Next day, very same thing. Husband leaves, one hour later she leaves and drives to the same office complex, gets out and goes inside, sits at the same desk and appears to be answering calls. Only thing for me to do at this point, go in. I get out and go inside, deciding to act as a customer and see what I can find out. My target greets me warmly. She explained that they are a new travel agency office and she is planning a surprise trip for her husband. He doesn't know she is working and especially doesn't know about the trip planned. She is very sweet, serious and not doing anything wrong.
I return to my office, work up a report and let the husband know what is going on. He felt really bad that he blew her surprise and suspected her of cheating. Case closed, it's good to work a case with such a happy ending!
McConnell Investigations

Private Investigators... The Real Story

Almost everyone can produce a mental image when they hear the words Private Investigator. Usually the image is muscular young men in colorful Hawaiian shirts driving red Ferrari's, shooting it out the the bad guys and ending up with the beautiful woman when the case is closed. If that were real life I don't know if more or less people would choose private investigations as a career. Hollywood has done a great job of romanticizing this business, but it could not be farther from the truth.

Private Investigators are information gatherers. They use cameras, they use computers, they use courthouses and public records sources to gather and record facts to help you with your case. There are some PI's who provide protection, as in bodyguard services and there are PI's who will locate and recover property and sometimes people. Parental kidnapping cases have made the news and in the past some cases have been publicized where religious cult members have been located and reunited with their families.

Much of the information that private investigators gather is in the form of public records and anyone can do the same. Birth, marriage, divorce, death and criminal records are available to any citizen. All you have to know is where to look.
There are other records that are not readily available to everyone and this is where the private investigator is very valuable.
Assets, locates, video and photography, due diligence, workman's compensation fraud, criminal national criminal histories and driving records are just a few things investigators can do.

The other type of information that private investigators gather is on the activities of an individual. Where someone works, plays and lives as well as who they associate with can be vital to a case.
If the subject of the investigation says they never visit a place or a person and you can produce photo or video documentation that proves otherwise, you may have the upper hand in your situation.
It is probably equally important to know what your private investigator can not do as it is to know what they can do. They can not work miracles.

First and foremost, just like everyone they are subject to the same penalties including fines and imprisonment if caught doing something illegal.
Contrary to what you see on television, picking locks and searching an office or a home is breaking and entering, which is illegal. It is also illegal to obtain banking records by being deceitful. It is illegal to obtain a credit report that is not yours without permission.
Do not despair if you feel that your information cannot be accessed surreptitiously. There are legal means established by the courts for your attorney to utilize for your benefit.
As for the rest of your case, your best bet is with a licensed, experienced private investigator.

Good luck....

McConnell Investigations

Child Custody

With cases rolling in and a great instructor, I felt I had finally found my calling. My first big case was custody of a child for a father. I got to work first of all to determine if the father was telling me the truth about his case and if he was the right parent to raise this child, if I wanted to get involved and if I felt there was a chance for him. His child, a beautiful 8 year old girl, how could I say no. In the end, I took the case and went to work.
As this case came together, it didn't take long to figure out the mother in this case had no business with a child to care for or be responsible for. She was too busy partying and doing drugs, exposing her child to this lifestyle. Most of her partying was done at her home where the child was playing, sleeping and seeing things an eight year old should not see.
For the child, there was no proper meals, no bedtime, strangers sleeping over and a mother who was too wrapped up in her own life to notice.
Night surveillance revealed Mom's "new boyfriend" is a local cop and a member of the local drug task force. How convenient!
However when things got tough, I remembered that beautiful little girl inside the home and the commitment I made to save her and see to it that she was placed in a home where someone loved and cared for her and saw to her needs.
With parties going on around the clock on the weekends made it very convenient for a successful trash pull from the front lawn. Jackpot! There was all the evidence a good investigator wants to have. Photos and evidence secured, it had been a good weekend.
With many more successful surveillance days of the mother there was enough evidence for an emergency hearing.
Judge heard the case, witnessed all the evidence and photos of the mother's behavior. At the end of the day, the father went home with his little girl! Mother with supervised visitation.
As an investigator you can't ask for a better ending for a case. Such a sense of accomplishment and ready to tackle a new case.
Until next time.....

McConnell Investigations

A Real Agency

Being a private investigator really has been more than I could have ever imagined. I guess the best thing has been meeting people with real problems they can't handle and being able to help them.
I've dealt with unfaithful spouses that I've gotten proof against, children that needed to be with a parent that would take better care of them including many fathers that didn't stand a chance without my help, missing persons, people that were wrongly accused or charged with a crime. I've located assets that needed to be provided to deserving individuals. I've found paternal parents for adopted children or now they are adults who just wanted to make contact with their mothers.
These are just a few of the types of cases that I have been involved in over the past ten years, the list is long but fulfilling. Actually I would get into it more but I've got to go on surveillance.
I'll write again soon.

McConnell Investigations

Becoming a PI

I have always searched for that one big thing I could do that was truly fulfilling and exciting. And it wouldn't hurt if I actually got a pay check out of it. Yes, like almost everyone out there, I've worked my share of jobs, got fairly good pay for it, but there still seemed to be something missing. I was still searching.

My luck changed in 1996 when I met a man who was surprisingly searching for the same thing. At the time he was ending a bad relationship (haven't we all been there), had an overly demanding job and lived miles away. He was burned out and ready for a change. Sounded good to me!

He shared that he was working part time with a PI Agency in a large city and had always wanted to start his own agency and had the experience to do so.

One year later, we joined forces and started our own agency. It has been an experience I have always wanted to share. In doing so, I hope to share some awesome cases, maybe even be able to answer some questions you have always wanted to ask.

My road to becoming a good investigator has been well traveled, I have been part of changing peoples lives, placing children with GOOD parents, located maternal parents for people who have been searching for their natural parents for years without success and located a fair amount of people who supposedly "couldn't be found."

The reward for doing something you truly love is the one big thing I have always searched for. I have found it mostly in helping others. Hopefully, you will be encouraged to do the same. And if your lucky, maybe you will even get paid to do it.

McConnell Investigations