Locating Persons/Assets

Locate Investigations fall into two categories: 1) Locating people and 2) Locating property or assets.

People

The internet is full of “people finder” types of websites that conduct searches of online data bases. Most of these websites search through freely available databases, that often contain only dated material, and then charge for the service. Obtaining current information on someone’s whereabouts means accessing databases that are generally not available to the public.

When it comes to locating people, even the best online data has little meaning until the information is verified. Keep in mind that some people are in hiding for a reason, are actively being hidden or do not want to be found. Obtaining verified location information on a person not actively in hiding can take as little as a couple of hours – often much less if an in-person verification is not needed.

Missing person investigations: Concern over a missing person should always be reported immediately to law enforcement. However, law enforcement agency staffing and other considerations could mean that your missing person case is not getting the amount of attention that you need. A private investigator can be hired to be solely dedicated toward helping to find that missing person. 

Assets

Similarly, the difficulty in locating someone’s assets depends on how active they have been in hiding them. Asset searches generally consist of combing through public records to find any personal property or real estate held by a person or corporate entity listed in those records. These types of investigations are common for many civil litigation cases, including:

  • Personal Injury Cases
  • Motor Vehicle Accident Cases
  • Collection of Debt Matters
  • Divorce Cases

Asset investigations can also help determine if someone is employed but being paid “under-the-table” and can often help to identify and collect unpaid child support.

A preliminary asset location investigation can take as little as a couple of hours to verify listed assets as determined by public records. Court-ready documentation of public recorded assets can take longer and will incur certification costs. Finding assets that have intentionally been hidden is much more difficult. Depending on the sophistication of the scheme to hide assets (shell companies, cutouts, etc.) and the type of assets being hidden (tangible vs. intangible assets) the task can be complicated, requiring a great deal of time and effort for success.