Missing Children

Faced with some down-time last night, I decided to do something that I have wanted to do since I opened my own office as a private investigator.  I wanted to look at cold cases, specifically those of missing children in my state, Indiana.

There are some things that I have learned from experience while working for a busy police department.  Missing person (juveniles) cases receive a very low priority.  There are many reasons for this.  Most of the juvenile missing person cases filed everyday are for habitual runaways.  Others are related to incidents such as arguments with parents and the child returns before the detailed report is even entered into the national database.  Without the statistics at my fingertips, I could only estimate that I handled several hundred missing juvenile cases in my career.  Of these, none of them amounted to more than a simple runaway or angry child returning home after serving their own needs, but other officers handled more serious incidents such as violent kidnappings and murder but while they will never be forgotten, they were rare in my career.

Violent and domestic crimes continue to rise as the economy slinks further into the abyss.  Budget cuts are forcing city and town managers to put fewer and fewer police officers at work patrolling the streets and causing these officers to prioritize their assignments. A desk piled with open murder, rape and robbery cases, take priority over missing children.

Several high profile child cases has helped to improve the approach to these cases but not nearly enough.  The abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman in Texas corresponded with the need for an emergency system designed to alert the public and law enforcement of the details arising from a possible child abduction.  Police departments were trained in the criteria required for the Amber Alerts and some even looked at their departments policy for the investigation of these matters but many did not.

Getting back to my "down-time," I looked through several of the major online databases that displays names and the available information related to the missing child.  In one of the cases that caught my attention waas a 5 year old boy named Richard Wayne Landers. He was abducted by his non-custodial grandparents, Richard E. and Ruth Ann Landers.  He was abducted in LaGrange County Indiana on July 29th, 1994.  Richard is a white male and has brown hair and blue eyes.  Other than a five year old's height and weight, there is no further information to be found on this case.  This case has just seen it's 17th anniversary, making Richard Wayne Landers , 22 years old.

I know about family privacy and protection laws.  I also know that society has created these rules to protect ourselves and our children.  I am using this case as an example, in order to promote the need for these cases to be opened up by police departments and investigators and displayed to the community.  Without contacting the investigator in this case, who is probably unable to release information on an open investigation, I am at a loss in this case.  Has Richard been reunited with his family?  Is Richard still alive?  Are his grandparents?  Did they abduct him to protect him from an abusive situation?  Was this a random kidnapping by delusional family members?  Does this case need to be investigated further?  If it were one of my children, not only would I want every possible detail released everywhere it possibly could, I would go door-to-door until I found them.  There aren't many parents that wouldn't.  I can't say anything about Richard's parents.  The information just isn't out there. 

There are more questions than answers here.  Police departments all over need to open these files on their website, national databases and every other site where the interested public and professionals are able to view them and assist the police departments depleted ranks.  Since society has proved that their assistance is useful and needed as displayed in the results of the Amber Alerts, open up the files and arm the public with this knowledge.  My 17 year old son is so proficient with social networking that he alone can scan the nation electronically.  Imagine what a seasoned, experienced professional investigator could do.

Finding the Missing Person

     Not a day goes by, that I don't receive a phone call from a potential client, who tells me the same frustrating story.  They used one of those sites on the internet in an attempt to locate a long lost friend, missing family member, old military buddy or classmate.  The sites had no difficulty in accepting their payment but produced no viable results. 
    
     The allure of fast responses at the push of a button can be too powerful to resist but resist you must.  The information in these databases, generally, are outdated public records from old phone directories or other outdated sources.  They don't produce results.  They won't help you find your missing person.

     Professional private investigators have at their disposal, access to databases that are updated daily. These databases are not accessible by the general public and many police departments lack the budget to utilize these tools.  In addition, professional, licensed investigators, bring their skills to locating  missing persons.  We have learned that internet databases are just the beginning of the search.  Data must be developed, researched and acted upon.  Answers aren't usually produced overnight.  Patience is the key as the investigator could literally review hundreds of pages of collected data and talk to scores of people on the phone.

     Call a private investigator to help you out.  Many such as our agency, Joswiak & Associates Investigations, offer free consultations and will guide you through the process in a friendly and concerned manner.  Don't waste your hard earned money on those websites that won't deliver.  Give us a call today at 219 947-7600.  You don't need to be a resident of Indiana to receive our help.
    

The Cheating Partner

Is something not feeling right but you just cannot put a finger on what it is?  Does your partner seem distant lately?  Are they constantly checking their cell phone for texts or messages?  Are they dressing in a different style or manner or do they sport a new hairstyle?  

These are just a few of the signs that there may be a problem in your relationship.  Cheating has become  much easier with the omnipresence of social networking sites and the availability of free email sites.  Think about it, is there anyone that you know under the age of fifty that doesn't have an email address even if they claim they never use it?  My father, age 77 has a Facebook account and at least 3 email addresses that I am aware.  While he isn't cheating, his marriage is part of the small majority of relationships that are not in danger of collapse due to infidelity.

This is my area.  I provide answers to people in need.  This is serious work for people in serious trouble.  Best case scenario, there is no cheating being done but the relationship has other issues.  What caused this lack of trust initially?  Who's to blame?   Worst case scenario, the cheater has been exposed and action is needed to be taken by a devastated partner. It becomes messy and emotional but open and addressable.

Relationships are difficult for everyone.  There is nothing for which to be embarrassed. People from all walks of life find themselves in these situations everyday.  Everyone struggles but we persevere to find the truth and to live a better life.  This comes from healing.