People Who've Hired A Private Investigator Divulge What They Found

Things you're not sure you want to know.

We all have suspicions and questions when it comes to the behavior of others. It's a natural part of the human psyche..... natural and crazy. You just have to temper the crazy. Hiring people to spy and follow others at your request can be a bit over the top, but, can also lead you to a treasure trove of information. You just have to be careful about opening that Pandora's Box.

Redditor u/edgeworth_ wanted to hear all the details about certain discoveries many people may or may not have been ready to know by asking.... Redditors who have hired a private investigator...what did you find out?


Google It

investigating basketball wives GIF by VH1Giphy

One of my jobs is to search for long lost relatives (usually several generations ago).

Typically, the case is about old plots of land where I should track down owners (or their heirs) to update the land registry because a state wants to build there something.

Let me tell you, the amount of information you can find on Google and in public records is astounding if you know where to look.

Der_genealogist

Scammed....

I had a girlfriend that worked for one for a while. She said that the majority of their work was insurance scams. She took a lot of pictures of guys who said they were hurt on the job playing golf and surfing and such.

catfarts99

There seems to be a lot of that in this thread.

Sometimes I wonder if I'd be able to pull off such a scam because any investigator would only be able to determine that after the 'accident' I didn't post my life on social media and I almost never engaged in strenuous activity outside the house... so no change there then.

Geminii27

Ace Ventura?

My little brother hired one to find his dog. He was living in L.A. and his complex let the dog out on accident. Small dog some mutt of toy breeds. He looked on his own for two weeks and was devastated. My folks found this guy in Indiana who was like $3k to hire but he guaranteed he'd find the dog or he wouldn't get paid. My folks and I chipped in as my brother couldn't afford that. The guy found my brothers dog inside of a day. It was wild.

Trainwreck071302

Brotherly Funds

money run GIF by Juan BillyGiphy

My dad hired a PI in the mid 90s in Eastern Europe to find out if one of his business partners was stealing from him. Instead he found out his own brother was stealing from him. He refused to belieev the PI and his brother robbed him blind. Took a huuuuuge amount of money and left him with gigantic debt. He still forgave him.

Proper-Solution

Reading Fulltime

I was a private investigator for a little bit. Most work PIs do is searching financial/court records and serving documents. But one time I was paid by wealthy parents to stake out their college senior who had stopped returning their calls. They were worried about her. These parents paid like $40k for round the clock monitoring just to find out their daughter dropped out of school and was a full time ski bum.

Btw stakeouts are mostly just sitting in your car reading all day.

KenComesInABox

"you hurt her, you're dead" 

Not me, but a friend hired one because he was suspicious his stepdad was being unfaithful to his mom. So, he asked me, and I put him in contact with a guy I knew.

Bit of a backstory, the stepdad is 5'10", 160ish pounds. My friend is 6'2" 235 pounds, ripped.

At 15, when my friend's mom and stepdad started dating, my friend gave the the typical "you hurt her, you're dead" speech. Also his bio dad walked out on him and his sister when my friend was like 4. It took a while, but my friend warmed up to the guy and he's a good guy (took my friend and I to an 49ers game once which was pretty cool).

Anyways, the PI said he wasn't cheating. Apparently there was a house on the market that my friend's mom wanted, and he bought it. He had been remodeling it for some time and he kept it a secret. As a 5-year anniversary gift to her, he bought it. Anyways, they live in a five-bed house now.

Dchung0217

The Babysitter

Had a babysitter we thought was stealing from us, luckily our neighbor was a PI couple and they ran a background check for $10. Babysitter had a string of DUIs and a few days before a large fine was due, my camera disappeared. He also stole money from my kids piggy banks.

He sort of disappeared but was also really into Instagram so I surreptitiously followed him.

He started babysitting again for a single mom (easy target) and posted a lot of 'fun' pics with this family. I tracked down the mom and sent her a long email detailing out his whole scam. She said we were right and it was clear he'd been stealing from her business.

He has since gone underground but I still Google him regularly to see what he's up to. He's been able to avoid arrests for a while now.

dewayneestes

Fools....

oh come on jim carrey GIFGiphy

I have a story about private investigators doing a hilariously crap job.

So, years ago, my brother injured his back at work because of his employer's unsafe work practices.

During the ensuing suit, my brother's lawyer was given a folder full of documents from the employer's team. Turns out, they had hired a PI to investigate my brother to prove that his injury was faked. Well, unfortunately, the PI had been taking pictures of ME, operating an ATV mounted leaf hopper. My brother walked into the court hearing and watched the color drain from the opposing lawyers' faces when he introduced himself, looking nothing like me.

Fr1dge

Siblings....

My sister (mid 30s) is adopted and hired one to find her estranged biological father.

They came back saying that not only was he still alive and nearby, but he had a daughter. Meaning she also had a biological sibling!

Further digging from the PI uncovered that they weren't just similar ages either, they were exactly the same age. The evidence suggested that my sister had a twin and her birth father had taken the twin and vanished.

Huge, life-changing news.

Eventually, through more incredible detective work, the PI realized that the daughter was actually just my sister. There was no other sibling and they had just been investigating my sister the whole time accidentally. Needless to say, we asked for the money back.

grzzlybr

The Widow Thief

Destroy Diary Of A Mad Black Woman GIF by BounceGiphy

My grandmothers first "boyfriend" after my grandfather died said he was a retired cop and a veteran.

They enjoyed dancing to country music together, and bought a new car, in her name though, even though she can't drive anymore.

My uncles hired a PI. Turns out, that old b**tard had a habit of shacking up with widows and bleeding them dry. (The boyfriend not the PI).

SimonSaysx

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People Break Down The Most Beautiful Places To Visit In The United States
Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

America the beautiful.

So much to see. So much to experience.

Just because we don't have exotic oceans and ancient history doesn't mean there isn't majesty to take in.

There are many vacations to put together.

And now we don't have to use a paper map to plan.

Our apps and GPS have it all planned out.

Redditor driedkitten wanted to compare notes about the greatest ways to see the USA, so they asked:

"Where is the most beautiful place in the United States?"

So far the cliffs of California is my favorite part of the US.

The Falls

niagara falls GIFGiphy

"Subjective of course, but Crater Lake is certainly a sight to behold."

KaboodleMoon

"My home state of Oregon is full of beautiful places, South Umpqua falls, Illinois River, and Multnomah falls. Are some favorites."

jlp120145

Oh Hoh...

"A tie for Acadia, Hoh rainforest, and Rainier in the fall."

ParkLaineNext

"I was going to say Acadia. It's very underrated for some reason. My mom's friend by coincidence ended up being my English professor in college and we went on a trip to see family in ME. We stopped at Acadia for a day and she said it reminded her a lot of her visit to Greece."

NunChuckNorris007

"Hoh rainforest is absolutely devastatingly beautiful. Hiked the whole Hoh river trail when I was 17 and it's still near the top of the list for my favorite things I've ever done."

Hal9000_Red_Eye

In Awe

"Glacier national park. I was continuously in awe that the place was real life."

StrebLab

"The vistas of this road, on a motorcycle, were beyond breathtaking to experience. Would 100% do it again. Being on a bike allowed for stops at the waterfalls where there was no room for vehicles to pull over, and the views from the tunnels under the road were supernatural."

tastygrrrl

The Road Ahead

"There is a stretch of the Navajo reservation where there is no cell service, AM or FM radio reception. The road stretches before you for miles surrounded by red rocks touching blue sky. The buzzing undercurrent of modern connectivity fades away and your brain can be truly still."

tulleandtiaras42

"We did a little unscheduled off-roading in that area when we came to a road closed barrier. A Navajo couple pulled up alongside us while we pondered the dirt road heading roughly in the direction we wanted to go and assured us it was passable. Really lonely place... but wonderful."

KaleidoscopeWeird310

On a Clear Day

Mountain GIF by Sunshine VillageGiphy

"Mount Rainier."

WWDB

"If I stand right at the doorjamb of my front door on a clear day, I have a beautiful view. I owned this house for 15 years before I figured that out. You can't see it from any other position in the doorway, or if you're outside."

Wise_Ad_4816

Mountains are hot. That is all.

See the Country

Happy Dance GIF by PLAYMOBILGiphy

"Depends on what you’re looking for. The United States is a big place."

"For me - Hawaii is hard to beat."

Own-Willingness-3935

Beautiful scenery...

"Zion National Park is the most well-known place in Utah. But my entire state is an outdoorsman's paradise. LOTs of beautiful scenery in both the northern and southern parts of the state."

nekor18670

"Totally!!! And it’s very different. I personally prefer Southern Utah because the red rocks make me feel like I’m on Mars. But I grew up in the salt lake valley, so the mountains lost a lot of their majesty. But if I’m being honest, I miss them terribly."

Bye-sexual-band-n3rd

Smell the old growth

"I’m incredibly biased, but the most beautiful place is the California redwoods. Drive up 101, and then detour towards Petrolia. There is absolutely nothing like it. Roll down your windows and drive 35mph. Smell the old growth. Stop at the pull out. Take a small hike. It’s worth it."

Altril2010

"Yes, 100%. My brother lives in McKinleyville and I am going to see him the end of April. Can't wait. It's my happy place. They are like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls... you have to see them to believe them. Those redwoods are something else!"

strongy78

Utopia

"Yosemite! You drive thru the tunnel and come out the other side. Looks like heaven/Utopia."

Socalrdb

"Did a hike in Yosemite on January 1 last year. A spectacular way to start the year. I had seen photos of it, seen it in movies, watched countless videos on Youtube about it but -nothing- prepares you for the sight of El Cap as you turn that corner. I was very nearly moved to tears."

ThrustersToFull

Amazing

Episode 1 Boat GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

"The Shenandoah Valley. Its an amazing place if you're an outdoorsman. Hiking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, camping."

homoco4396

All the wonders of the world. I may have to check all of these out.

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.

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