Do you need to find a defendant, witness, or beneficiary?One of the ways I help lawyers advance their files is by finding missing people. Solving the “locate puzzle” is always rewarding and each request has its own unique set of challenges. Most can be solved reasonably quick; however, others can be extremely complicated by minimal or outdated information. The case of Rob from Saskatchewan was one. A prominent Ottawa law firm called me with an estate file that had been all but given up on. When I asked what they knew about the beneficiary, I was told, “His name is Rob and he lived in Saskatchewan with his mother about 20 years ago.” I asked, “Do you have anything else?” They replied, “A 20-year-old photo of his mother with her maiden name written on the back.” Well, I do like a challenge. After 3 months of research, enquiries, deduction and reasoning (and to make a long story short), there was no sign of Rob, but I found Mom. I dialed her number anticipating that I was mere steps away from Rob, when a woman answered. I asked for her by name (which I had figured out by now), but she told me that I had the wrong number and hung up. My investigator’s intuition was pinging, so I called back but there was no answer or voicemail. Being that she was 3500 km away, I couldn’t just drive over and knock on her door. I decided to write an email and sent it to her at the email address I had identified. Later that night, my phone rang with an out of province number on the display. It was Mom. I authenticated that I had the correct person, but she was not giving up Rob yet. Mom explained to me that she was concerned as Rob was serving time in an Alberta jail for stealing to support his addictions, and that his inheritance could take him to the brink. After a short while, she agreed to speak with Rob before telling me what jail he was in. Later that week I received a call from an Alberta correctional institution where an officer verified my identity and then after 3 months, Rob came on the line. He told me that he had hoped one day to meet his estranged father and he was saddened that was no longer possible. Rob had a quiet, polite manner and throughout our conversation I learned that he had sought refuge in his addictions which had eventually consumed him. Rob sounded truly humbled and in disbelief that a second chance had come his way while sitting idly in a jail cell. Contact me, I can help you move your file along to the next stage.Comments are closed.
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Blog AuthorRussell Crawford, a licensed private investigator for over 20 years, is regularly retained by many of Canada's highest profile law firms, insurers and corporations. Archives
September 2022
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