What is a locate, and how does Daniel find a current address?
A locate finds a current address or contact for someone who is not in danger and may simply have moved. Skip tracing means the same thing: finding a current address for someone who has moved.
It is not a missing persons case, which starts with a police report. Finding a witness for a case is covered under witness location and interviews.
Records research comes first: public records, court records and the databases licensed investigators use, each checked against the others. A field check in Oklahoma then confirms the address.
A people-search report can be out of date, or can mix up two people with the same name. Daniel cross-checks the records and confirms the address in the field before reporting it.
Who uses skip tracing in Oklahoma?
- Attorneys and legal assistants who need a party or a defendant found, for process serving or for the case itself.
- Estate attorneys and families looking for an heir.
- Families who have lost touch with a relative.
Not every request is taken. Daniel declines a locate when the purpose looks like harassment, or when it would help someone reach a person a protective order protects.
This research is not used for hiring, renting, credit or insurance decisions.
Why does every locate in Oklahoma need a lawful purpose?
Because the records investigators use are released only for purposes the law allows, and because a locate can put someone at risk. Have your reason ready: it decides which records may be used.
Federal law lets licensed investigative agencies use motor vehicle record information only for permitted purposes, such as litigation and service of process. Whoever receives it may pass it on only for a permitted use, and anyone who does must keep a record of each recipient for five years. 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b), (c)
Oklahoma's stalking law treats tracking a person's location with a GPS or other monitoring device, without that person's consent, as "following", with narrow exceptions. It covers a person who acts on behalf of another, and the penalty is higher when a protective order is in effect. 21 O.S. § 1173
Daniel does not track anyone by device.
Getting someone's phone records by lying to a phone company is a federal crime. 18 U.S.C. § 1039
A phone number in a report comes from lawful sources, never from phone company records obtained by pretext.
CLEET, the Oklahoma agency that licenses private investigators, can discipline a licensee who "practices fraud, deceit or misrepresentation". OAC 390:35-9-5
A licensed private investigator may not disclose information learned on a case except as the client directs or the law requires. 59 O.S. § 1750.8(B)
Nothing on this site is legal advice. Ask your attorney how the law applies to your situation.
What will the locate report tell you?
- The current address or contact, with the date it was verified and how.
- A confidence level, stated plainly.
- The sources checked.
- Earlier addresses, where they matter.
- A written record of the locate efforts.
That record matters most when a person cannot be found. Before service by publication, Oklahoma requires a statement that service cannot be made with due diligence by any other method (12 O.S. § 2004(C)(3)). How the record is used is a question for your attorney.
A locate is records work, not surveillance, so the result is a written report. Daniel is available to testify about the work performed.
What should you have ready for the first conversation?
The first consultation is free. Work begins only after a written agreement is signed and a retainer is paid, as how it works explains. For that first conversation, it helps to have:
- the person's full name, and any other names used;
- the date of birth, if you know it;
- the last known address and phone number;
- relatives or employers you know of;
- the reason for the locate, and the court case it belongs to, if there is one.
What it costs depends on how hard the person is to find. A common name, or a person avoiding contact, takes more hours. Database or records fees and the mileage for a field check are the other factors. All of it is set out in the written agreement before work begins. The cost guide explains each one.
When should you call the police or 911 before a locate?
If someone is in danger right now, call 911. Fuller Investigations is not an emergency service.
A locate is for someone who has moved or is hard to reach. If the person may be in danger, or has vanished, it is not a locate.
If someone is missing, report it to local law enforcement first. A private investigator can work alongside that report.
Fuller Investigations declines any matter whose purpose appears to be to harass, threaten, stalk or harm someone.