In a private investigator’s world, things aren’t always what they seem to be.
It was December, holiday cheer all around. I was bracing for the holiday lull that sometimes comes in the investigation industry, when my phone rang. A guy named Randy told me a story that was the same as all the others, and at the same time, unique.
Randy had been married for five years. He and his wife had two small children. But while everyone else was getting ready for holidays with family, his wife had distanced herself from hers. She’d stopped coming home from work, barely responded to calls, and was increasingly absent from the kid’s day-to-day needs. I, of course, was getting ready to lay my surveillance rates on Randy. But before I could outline the pricing structure, he informed me that his wife’s cousin knew the guy’s first name. Great news! Less great was the news that this guy had recently been released from prison.
Randy wanted me to figure out who his wife’s “friend” was and do a background investigation on him.
Unfortunately, all Randy had was a first name and a prepaid telephone number — aka, a burner. I asked Randy if his wife was at least still working. He said she was. Randy also said that the vehicle and insurance were in his name. I suggested putting a GPS* on the car to see where she was going at night and possibly figure out where the guy lived. I hoped that would give me more information I could use to look into him further.
Randy agreed it was a good idea. The following day, I went to his wife’s job and placed a GPS under the family’s white Dodge Caravan.
Working the Case
For the next few days, I watched the vehicle going to a neighborhood in the Oxnard, CA area. After noting the approximate times, I went to the neighborhood and sat within sight of where the vehicle had parked. About an hour into my surveillance, the Caravan drove onto the street and parked curbside to a Spanish-styled house. After about five minutes, a male in his early 30s exited the house. I took photographs of a brief encounter between the male and my client’s wife before they departed the area. I then headed to my office and fired up my favorite investigative database. I ran the subject’s address through, got a list of occupants, and narrowed the list down by first name and by the age range I believed my subject to be.
Voilà, I had the subject’s name and DOB. I ran him through the court websites, called the Department of Corrections, and scored a mountain of information. The subject had a history of violence and drug abuse and was allegedly part of a street gang. He had recently been released from prison and was on parole.
I quickly produced a report for my client and emailed it to him. My client, of course, was concerned about the criminal history aspect but thanked me for my efforts.
The Client’s New Problem
About mid-January, Randy called back with another request. He’d approached his wife with the information we obtained. She told him she wanted to work on things, and then she disappeared. She’d stopped contacting her family and was unresponsive to calls from my client and their kids.
Randy had filed for divorce and needed me to serve papers on his wife. He didn’t want to drive by the house; he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to control his actions.
I checked with her employer and learned that she had not showed up or even called in the past two weeks. I then went to the subject’s last known address, but the Caravan wasn’t there. Knowing this was my last good lead, I decided to do what detectives are known for: I played the waiting game.
I set up a surveillance position and watched as daylight disappeared and the temperature dropped. Just as my stomach was rumbling, I observed the Caravan pulling up and parking. As I approached the vehicle, paperwork in hand, I saw that both occupants were smoking weed and drinking alcohol. After a tense moment, I made myself known and served the papers on my client’s wife.
Knowing this was my last good lead, I decided to do what detectives are known for: I played the waiting game.
About six months later, breaking news came on TV about a vehicle pursuit: There, on the screen, was a familiar white Dodge Caravan. The newscaster reported that California Highway Patrol had attempted to make contact with the vehicle on a freeway off-ramp when the passenger, a male subject, opened fire on the officer. The driver, a female, accelerated, and the chase was on. At some point, the male bailed out of the vehicle and got away, but my client’s wife kept driving. CHP eventually stopped the Caravan and arrested her. A week later, the male was found in a neighboring state. After a long standoff, he was hauled off to jail.
Watching this story unfold on the TV news was surreal to me. I had just worked this file and never thought that it would all come to this.
Reflections
My client was able to easily secure 100% custody of the children. He was grateful that he now had full custody of his kids. But the life he had imagined for himself had shattered, and he was still grieving.
Looking at this client’s life, he had the wife, the kids, the beautiful home. He thought he was doing everything right. He worked hard and was a committed and present husband and father. Unfortunately, we can never know for sure what’s going on with people under the surface, even the people closest to us.
My client’s ex-wife ended up going to jail and getting probation, losing access to her kids, and having her face plastered all over the news. Randy had to face raising his kids alone and dealing with his own hurt and his kids’ trauma of missing their mother. And me, I was left with thoughts of why someone would leave stability and a loving family for a situation that definitely was less than stellar. I wondered, was it all worth it?
I’ll probably never know.
Notes on Methodology & the Law:
*The methods that we used in this investigation were considered legally and ethically acceptable at the time. Please note that GPS laws have changed in some places since then. We strongly recommend that you research your state’s laws prior to placing a tracker on any vehicle.
Also, when doing a background investigation, don’t just stop at the databases. Make the calls, do the computer checks, visit the courts, and be as thorough as possible. The results your client needs depend on the efforts you put in.
About the author:
Steve Morrow began his career in private investigations in 2003. As a graduate of the Nick Harris Detective Academy, he learned a variety of investigative techniques including surveillance, skip tracing, asset searches, background investigations, obtaining statements, and more. In 2011, he founded the Morrow Detective Agency in Simi Valley, CA and has successfully conducted more than a thousand investigations.