Search for Missing Persons: What Private Investigators Can Do

Locating Missing People: Success Components

Searching for missing people is one of the most frequent requests in the practice of the Wolf group detective agency. And, of course, the result depends directly on three important components: number one is the professional experience of a private investigator. Number two is the response speed. And number three is data collection, analysis, and efficiency.

In the case of international search, it is necessary to be able to move between countries freely and without any hindrances. Legislation knowledge of the countries in which the search happens is also very important. It is much easier to investigate when there is no language barrier and when investigators possess effective communication skills when it comes to different layers of society and certain government agencies. It is crucial that your time, money and hopes for results do not go to waste.

The In-depth Analysis and Individual Approach

Any situation needs to have an individual approach. For instance, an accident may happen to a person. Or a person may hide deliberately. The person of interest can be kidnapped by criminals that can appear real but is in fact staged. Evidently, the approach of private detectives changes accordingly.

Let’s consider a search for a person that is deliberately hiding. First of all, our team conducts a thorough collection of detailed information to build a case about the person. Subsequently, we study the contacts, family and business ties, and certain personal life circumstances. Next, we are checking social networks accounts. Checking for possibilities of buying air and train tickets to know if there was an instance of crossing the border. If necessary, outdoor surveillance is performed, of course. The main thing is to find a lead. With its help, a private investigator can unravel the tangled traces. The hiding person tried to do everything to ensure that it is impossible to easily find them using standardized ways. The task of a private detective is to prove that the tracks can never be completely covered up.

Investigation Process: Every Minute Counts

Time is of critical importance when searching for missing adults and children that have recently disappeared under unknown circumstances. Every hour can cost a life. The search is most effective when conducted immediately after the disappearance. Naturally, hiring a private investigator or a detective agency should not exclude filing a missing person report with law enforcement agencies.

In any case, a private detective will begin the investigation immediately and will be the first to quickly collect and analyze useful and important information. The information obtained quickly after disappearance can later become useful to the police. Our detectives will interrogate witnesses. They will survey the territory in question. Investigators will find out the methods and destinations of travels, analyze the cellphone data. The circle of communication of the missing person. All this and much more must be done within the shortest possible time.

Working with the Archives and Databases

The search for distant relatives who emigrated and long-lost people involves a lot of analysis that may require some archival work. Investigators have the ability to correctly formulate a request to the necessary authorities to get a response in the shortest possible time. Deductive abilities are important, so is an ability to process large amounts of information, and building cause-effect relationships. An investigation is a truly creative process. The detective’s fundamental guiding principle during any investigation is the non-disclosure of confidential information about a client.

Every case has its own variations and nuances. It might be anything from the search for the alimony defaulter to a search for conmen who have stolen millions of dollars from companies or individuals. Each case is unique. The approach to investigation is also tailored. Only the hopes of those in hiding are the same. They try to never be found. Our private investigators work day and night to this.

The loss of loved ones is always a stressful situation. It often requires the work of crisis psychologists. Wolf Group has these professionals on our team. Why? Well, the successful search for missing people involves a huge variety of specialists with different backgrounds.

The Secret Ingredients of Private Investigation Success

It is important to understand that a successful result often does not depend on the amount of money spent by the client. It always depends on the quality of the data. The speed of the response. The clues. The contacts and opportunities that will be available to private detectives. At Wolf Group, our arsenal of international detective experience is to the client’s service to solve a case of any difficulty.

The question remains. Why do people disappear? Sometimes, it happens at will. At times, people try to run away from problems, debts, conflicts, or responsibilities. However, it may also happen against their will. It can be a kidnapping for ransom, slavery, sexual trafficking or even murder.

It might be separate from the cause of the disappearance. Loved ones become victims of such cases. Their families and relatives want to find the missing person. Unfortunately, not all law enforcement agencies work effectively when it comes to such cases. Especially, if a long time has passed since the disappearance.

Private Investigators Use All Possible Means

The best option for searching for the missing person is both to involve the official authorities and a private investigation agency. The more specialists that work on the case, the higher the chance of it to have a positive outcome. Moreover, law enforcement agencies, in addition to your case need to divide their time to work on other active cases. As a result, the agents are not able to concentrate only on one specific case. The search for a missing person by our private investigators has its focus on a single case at a time.

Understanding People’s Intentions and Unexpected Results

It is worth paying attention to another important point. It is very common for our detectives to have found people deliberately hiding from their relatives. Cases like that are very common. Unfortunately, it happens a lot that the clients do not clearly explain what they need. Above that, clients try to ask for additional services that are outside of the initial agreement. For example, our investigation agency finds a missing person. The client gets a full report that contains the evidence, attached photo and video materials, address of the POI.

Then, the joyful client goes to the specified address of the found person. However, the person is not happy to see them at all. They do not open the door or even call the police. And maybe even decide to move out the next day! Disappointed, the client comes back to our agency. They ask us to find the missing person once again for the same fee! Although, the case is considered closed. The fact that the result of our work is not successfully used by the client is unfortunate. But there is nothing we can do about it.

Sometimes It May Get Really Complicated

Of course, our private detectives are ready to open a new case file and start the search again. But that will have its own separate fee. Although, you must understand that the person of interest will now be more diligent at hiding their tracks. For example, they might not report a change of address to the SAAQ, or to Assurance Maladie. They might change their phone number. Their car. In other words, they will try to clear the traces as much as they can. We advise you to plan the communication with the person you are searching for beforehand, maybe try to foresee their actions. Think about it carefully. Perhaps, after our private investigators find them, you will only have one attempt to communicate. Please keep that in mind.

The Devil is in the Detail… Especially in Private Investigation

It is necessary to always provide our agency with full detailed information when you contact us. It is very important that our detectives do not waste time collecting the information that is already available to you. Please fully divulge all the information. Obviously, one way or another we will collect the information, and achieve a certain result. But knowing the full picture will save you money and time, which is of course priceless.

Sometimes funny situations happen. One woman came to our agency for an infidelity investigation. Then, she began to suspect that her husband is tapping her cell phone, reading text messages and e-mails. She was under the impression that she was being constantly monitored by some cars and their models changed every day. The woman was from a normal family of average income. There was no police operation against them, they were paying their mortgage and financed one car.

Obviously, our agency explained that the cost of following someone with different vehicles is more than their family could afford. This happens more frequently than people tend to think. For your information, tapping and hacking phones and emails is illegal. But people get nervous. During the investigation, there is a growing distrust of loved ones and their suspicions cause a lot of stress. Wolf Group professionals helped to calm this woman as much as they could.

Private Investigation is a More Complex Process Than it May Seem

There is another finicky type of clients. For some reason, people think that investigation services are a game or even a joke. Finding an address? 10 dollars! Following the wife that is cheating? 50 dollars! The list goes on. And no, unfortunately, we do not read text messages with the help of satellites. Unless of course, a client pays for its launch. Some want to find a person by a license plate number that went out of use ten years ago. But please do not misunderstand, we certainly can do it. However, it comes with a cost.

A Private Investigation is Not Really a Hollywood Movie

Many people judge investigation agencies by the work of detectives from Hollywood movies… A detective calls a hacker friend while walking on the beach with a beautiful lady. He connects to the government satellites which takes around 30 seconds. Another 30 seconds later, the detective has all the information about the person of interest, his wife, friends, and even grandparents. With a smile, the detective finishes his whiskey, kisses the beautiful lady and puts a thick wad of cash in his pocket. All joking aside, there are many quite harmless ways to get information about a person. There is no need to conduct illicit activities.

In addition, every day many different kinds of crimes occur in the world. The police agents solve some of them, however, most of them turn into cold cases. Why? That happens because police stations in any country can simultaneously throw a lot of human and technical resources to solve a crime. But new crimes happen on a daily basis. As a result, there is a shortage of personnel for each individual case. This is the main reason for the presence of such high-profile cold cases as Black Orchid, Zodiac, etc. This is where the advantage of a private investigator comes into play.

Joint Forces and the History of Investigators’ Collaboration

In the 19th century, the U.S. and Canadian police forces consulted private investigators for help on multiple cases. Of course, everyone has heard of the Pinkerton’s. The results were stunning. A lot of bank robbers were caught and convicted during that era. It is almost incomparable to the disclosure statistics in Europe at that time. There, all the criminal cases were given to the regular police units. And, of course, the bureaucratized system was sometimes too clumsy, too slow. At times it could take up to a month to get a response to a simple request. As a general rule, police officers are always overloaded with work. So there is a lack of attention to detail, working in a rush and stressful moments. As a result, errors are quite possible.

Undoubtedly, police officers are still heroes that are very experienced and competent. Indeed, a good half of the detectives of the Wolf Group investigation agency are former police professionals. There is just a competition of methods in our line of work. This is the jungle and the strongest wins. You are very lucky; the strongest professionals are on your side. So do not hesitate and contact us without a delay. We will not leave you in the dark. We will bring the truth to light.