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