Randy Johnstone hadn't seen his daughter in eleven years. Not since the divorce. His ex had some mental problems and for some reason Julia had decided to stay and care for her. Over time she had turned bitter to her father, eventually refusing to see or even talk to him. Now he had lost all contact with her, and had no idea where she was. He turned to an investigator for help. The investigator located Julia and delivered a letter from her father. The lines of communication had been re-established.

Gregg Hamond was bi-polar. He didn't hold a steady job, lived with various friends but moved frequently, didn't have any credit, didn't have an Oregon ID card. Could not be found by standard methods. But his parents were desperate to know how he was doing. They hadn't heard from him for several years. His brother was sick and they wanted him to know about it. They wanted to get a message to him, and maybe get a picture of him. The investigation started with his friends. No one would say anything. Everyone was very "close mouthed" about him. After weeks a man was finally found whom he had roomed with for a short time. He wanted to know why the investigator was looking for Gregg. Hoping for the roommate's cooperation, the investigator told him. The investigator never heard back from him. About a week later he heard from Gregg's parents. They were beside themselves with joy. Their son had called them. The old roommate had contacted Gregg and Gregg had decided to call his parents.

The attorney asked if the investigator could do a locate for him. He said he would certainly try. The subject was a middle-aged woman. The only information the attorney had was a maiden name and approximate age. After much research, she was finally located, having moved from Oregon to Florida some ten years earlier. Her parents had divorced when she was quite small. She had no contact with her father since the divorce and no memory of him. Her mother had died the year before. The father had gone on and become quite a successful and wealthy businessman. He had recently passed away and was represented by the attorney who called the investigator. The woman was named as the sole heir in her father's will.

People try to locate people for all sorts of reasons; witnesses to accidents, heirs in wills, lost children, lost parents, lost siblings, lost loves, judgment debtors, deadbeat parents, birth parents, runaways, for service of process, to return lost property and for dozens more. Included in the dozens more are more nefarious reasons, like stalking.

For legitimate and illegitimate reasons alike, people often turn to investigators to locate people. A large percentage of the time investigators are able to locate the subject. But what if the subject doesn't want to be found? What if the client is a stalker?

A reputable private investigation firm will first of all, make every effort to determine the true reason for the client's request to find the subject. If anything seems suspicious in any way, the investigator will decline the case. Secondly, the investigator will not give the client the subject's address or other information once found. The investigator will either tell the subject that the client is looking for them and give them a means of contacting the client, either directly or through the investigator; or the investigator may give the subject a letter from the client. In any case, the subject's whereabouts is not compromised.

Is there someone you would like to find? A private investigator may well be able to help you should you ever find yourself in the position of needing to locate an individual.

And don't be surprised if someday, when you least expect it, there's a knock at your door and an investigator tells you that someone is looking for you and…

Well, you fill in the blank!