As a professional tracer it is very important to consider several things: What is the real reason the person is running? How far and how hard will they run? and finally “How bad do I want to find them? The answers to these questions will determine the actions required to locate the object of your search, the amount of time and resources you will utilize, and how much money you are willing to spend in your efforts.
Many of the people we trace have experienced severe financial or personal circumstances and feel their current situation is intolerable. They are merely seeking a place where the collectors cannot call them, where they can shed their obligations and get some breathing room from their problems. These people do not desire to change their identities and sever all ties with past friends and relatives. This is the reason the astute tracer will be able to locate them.
In this issue we will look at some of the things this type of person does in an attempt to cover their tracks without actually changing their identity. The options available to this type of skip are many and those who are chosen will be influenced by several factors, all of which must be noted and analyzed by the professional tracer. Financial resources, mental and physical condition, personal interests, and health factors are but a few of the factors. Those with certain attributes may have a greater choice than those lacking those resources.
The great outdoors is also a great place for one to seclude and elude. The choices are infinite. The mountains of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, or Washington State are but a few of the places where one can buy, lease or rent. A very rural address, a pre-paid burner cell phone and a post office box in a large city where someone will pick up their mail and forward it makes this type of runner exceedingly hard to locate.
To locate this type of skip it is essential the tracer be able to locate and develop a good list of previous friends and/or relatives who appear to be sympathetic to the tracer’s need to contact the subject. It is essential the tracer stays in regular touch with these informants and waits for the object of the search to make contact and give away their secretive location. The tracer must realize this is a game of cat and mouse and a high degree of patience and fortitude will be required to prevail.
Another type of skip we will have to track is the transient worker who lives in hotels, motels, boarding houses and trailer parks. Often we are one step behind this type of person who may have a well-paying job such as working in the oil fields, working on a pipeline or driving a long haul truck.
The secret to success locating this type of person will be following their trail so closely you will be able to predict where their next stop will be. The tracer must learn to “pattern and profile.” Where do they sleep: motels, RV parks, or truck stops? Where and what do they eat: restaurants, fast food chains, or truck stops? Where did they start and where are they going? Do they tend to stay in large cities or small towns? The professional will use this knowledge to predict where the subject will be next and will patiently await their arrival.
Very few of the people we trace have the financial resources to pay cash for the necessities of life required to live in this grey world of obscurity and therefore must seek employment to satisfy the three basic needs, food, shelter, and transportation. In most cases the tracer will find a subject desires familiarity and comfort with what they choose to do to earn money. Keeping this in mind, looking at the subject’s previous occupation can allow insight into what they are doing now. After pinpointing an occupation, it becomes a simple matter of calling all of that particular occupation’s businesses listed in the yellow pages in our quarry’s area in hopes of getting a, “Just a minute I will call him/ her to the phone.”
These are just a few of the things the professional tracer must consider when tracking the most elusive prey on the face of the earth, man. Join us in the next issue for Part II of this article.
Ron Brown is a member of the National Association of Fraud Investigators and the author of “MANHUNT: The Book.” Contact him at