Learn How to Find Anyone Through Skip Tracing

“Skip tracing” is how a professional locates the whereabouts of a person who has been difficult to find. “The term ‘skip’ refers to the person being searched for” and comes from the idiom “to skip town; that is, to leave – perhaps in a rush – with few clues behind to “‘trace’ the ‘skip” to a new location.”[1]

It sounds like something out of a 1930’s private-eye novel, but modern-day investigators use up-to-the-minute technology and methods to find their prey.

Who uses skip-tracing services? Lawyers need this type of help to find potential defendants and witnesses in lawsuits. Debt-collectors want this information to find delinquent customers or borrowers.  But skip-tracing may also be for happy reasons. Attorneys may seek long-lost heirs to big estates. Colleges may want to find alumni with whom they have lost contact. Individuals may wish to find old friends or lost loves. There are many other practical, everyday business applications.

If you need this type of assistance, you want a firm with the training, experience, and credentials to do the job efficiently and correctly.  Skip tracing is both an art and a science.

It may involve multiple records-searches along with out-of-office sleuthing and interviewing.

Some common sources of information for skip tracing are: address and phone number databases, legal records, criminal records and background checks, utility bills, driver’s license applications and renewals, payroll data, vehicle registrations, applications for loans and jobs, credit reports, social security, disability, and public tax information.

Sometimes data can be used to identify third parties who have information on the “skip’s” current location. This is where the methods include more than just probing databases, and may include interviewing former neighbors, employers, or other known contacts, or even conducting surveillance.

The science of skip tracing entails using current data from multiple, reliable sources, and cross-referencing that information to ensure its accuracy. Advances in technology, including the internet, help with the search. Computer-assisted data retrieval has been a boon in the skip-tracing process. Sometimes this information is relatively easy to access. In other cases, the investigator may need to access documents that involve more work or cost – like court files, property and motor vehicle records, and electronic databases, including those held by law enforcement or government agencies.

The art of skip tracing involves skillfully analyzing the data and crafting creative solutions for follow-up information and searching.

Conducting an effective and efficient search is challenging, but Direct Legal Support, Inc. has the personnel, skills, experience, and professionalism to meet all of your skip tracing needs. Kern’s licensed private investigators and other staff are happy to discuss and explain how we can help you.