El Scott Harrell

Skip Tracing- An Article from Pursuit Magazine for Private Investigators and Bounty Hunters

“Skip tracing” is a term that refers to the process of finding a person whose whereabouts are unknown. This term is based upon the word “skip,” which is often used to describe a subject who is believed to be “skipping out” on his or her duties and obligations such as a debt or court appearance.  Private sector investigations occur on behalf of a wide variety of client-types:

•  Family members looking for long-lost relatives.
•  Friends looking for persons with whom they lost touch many years ago.
•  Attorneys looking for missing heirs in probate cases.
•  Creditors looking for those who owe them money.
•  A bail bondsman looking for a client who has failed to appear in court.
•  An insurance company looking for a missing witness to an insured loss.
•  A parent looking for their child who has run away or was abducted. 
•  Private Investigators looking for a scam artist or identity thief.

The list goes on and on really. 

Perhaps the most important consideration to take into account when beginning a skip trace assignment is to determine what type of missing person you have.  You must be able to answer the question, “Why is the subject missing?” in order to develop a reasonable plan of action and begin the investigation.   

People are missing for a great number of reasons, but these reasons typically fall into one of two categories, intentionally or unintentionally missing, which I then like to break down in to the following subcategories:

Would you like to read the rest of the article?

Then visit our website at PursuitMag.com and subscribe to the newest newsletter for private investigators, bounty hunters and other professional investigators and get access to this and other excellent articles written by professionals in the legal, private security and investigations professions.

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Dog For Sale

Free to good home.

Excellent guard dog.

Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.

Most of them knew him as "Holy Shit!"

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Crushing the Competition with Competitive Intelligence

Starting and growing a business doesn’t happen without information. As an entrepreneur who wants to dominate his or her chosen field, you need to know who your competitors are, what the market is like and where opportunities lie; you must have the answers to questions like:

Who are your primary competitors?
What customer needs and preferences are you competing to meet?
What are the similarities and differences between their products and services and yours?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of their products and services?
How do their prices compare to yours?
How should you plan to compete: Offer better quality services, lower prices, more support, and/or easier access to services?
How are you uniquely suited to compete in your marketplace?

Competitive Intelligence Professionals know just where to look, using offline and online sources to help you define strategies and market positioning help you stand out from the crowd and hit the ground running.

See the rest of this article written by Scott Harrell, Florida Private Investigator, in our next edition of Pursuit Magazine, the online private investigator magazine!  It’s only about 2 weeks away.

Subscribe today (fo’ free) to be the first person in your neighborhood to get a copy- everyone else will be jealous when they see YOU sporting the new edition first!

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Catching Up!

Yes, it has been a long while since I have posted here but I heard from an old friend today who called me out of the blue and said how much he had enjoyed my blog when I was actively posting.

I heard the same thing from a competitor (and new friend) a few weeks ago.

So there must be something to this and perhaps I should breathe new life into it and resume being the crazy zealot I was just a few months ago- afterall, calling people out and keeping you all laughing is as much a mission as being a great husband, private investigator, mentor and soon to be father can be.

So much has happened to me in the last few months that it would be impossible to really catch up here but I would say the single greatest thing that has happened to me personally is that I found out that I am going to be a father soon- sometime in May to be exact.  It is a girl and we do have a name picked out.  It is the most beautiful name a woman could ever hope for I think- but of course that will remain private for now.

No, it is not going to be Stella- my wife fought me tooth and nail on that one despite the pleas from several others who also believe it is a beautiful name.  In the end she just couldn't bear the thought that I might be naming my daughter after our favorite beer, Stella Artois, and that I wanted to name a female Yellow Labrador we almost adopted last September Stella as well.

She did give in and agree that if we had another girl that we could name her Stella- sometimes it's about victory in the small battles.

I am excited but scared to death as well.  Ready or not... SHE IS COMING.

Continuing on with personal development, I have been reconnecting with my little sister too.  What a cool chick she has become- and a truly beautiful woman also.  She is really f'n funny, articulate and loves to laugh.  She is raising a really special daughter and dealing with the toughest teenage years with her right now all the while having fun with her friends and maintaining a seriously professional career.  Now she told me that she is pregant and due sometime in the late summer and she sounds really happy with everything going on in her life.  I kick myself in the ass for letting so much time go by without catching up with her and feeling a little love from lil' sista every once in a while.   

Professionally speaking, the greatest thing which has happened since my last post is that I have added the best office manager a man could have ever hoped for.  She is a damn smart, motivated- workaholic with some serious Office Ninja skills.  All of our clients love her and she keeps me and the investigators in line and productive.  I seriously could not ever pay her what she is worth but in time she will become a great private investigator too.

She has pumped up our marketing efforts 3 fold, streamlined many of our continuing education processes, added insight into the legal community (she is a former paralegal) and even screens out the psycho-nut-cases with aplomb.  In recent developments, she created an incredible newsletter for professional investigators, Pursuit Magazine, which is going to speak volumes on behalf of CompassPoint Investigations.  Click the link to check out our first issue posted at PursuitMag.com!

Further showcasing her talents, she has gotten us onto MySpace with a very professional looking site.  CompassPoint Investigations on MySpace  I am pretty excited about that one since, in addition to furthering the recognition of CPI, it has already allowed me to reconnect with some old friends from high school and the military.  I could go on and on about how great Stephanie is, but words just seem trivial.

There you have it- two new ladies in my life, personally and professionally, and reconnecting with my sister. 

How could a guy get so lucky?

Additional professional interests:  Anthony Oliver: I wonder if he ever went to court on his domestic assault charge? The answer was NO as of 4/4/08 but I am working on that personally.

More coming over the next few days, I promise.  (I smell a good 'ol fashioned Voodoo Hex coming on soon too.  Can you say leaky McDonald's cups and the morons who cannot seem to afix the lid to the cup without making an absolute mess of it all?  VERY HEX WORTHY.)

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Funniest Joke of the Year

This is, unequivocally, the funniest joke I have seen all year… enjoy!

One day little Johnny heard a noise and peeked into his parents room to check it out.  He opened the door to see his mom bent over the dresser and dad going at it from behind her.  Johnny's dad saw him and gave him a little wink as Johnny closed the door.

After business was finished Dad went to check on little Johnny.  He opened his bedroom door to find Grandma bent over the dresser and little Johnny going at it from behind her.

Dad yelled, "Johnny, what the hell are you doing?!"

Little Johnny replied, "It's not so funny when it's YOUR mom, is it?"

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Bail Enforcement Agent Shirts

Hands down, this website has the most shirt designs for fugitive recovery agent; they have bounty hunter shirts, bail enforcement t-shirts, private investigator designs, bail fugitive investigator and several others.

These shirts will instantly identify you as a good guy when the police or other law enforcement officer arrives on scene and you are struggling to apprehend a fugitive.  Don't risk your safety because you looked like one of the bad guys!

These shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other accesories make great birthday  and christmas gifts for that person whose career and passion is bounty hunting!  If you have a special request for an item you do not see listed, shoot me an email and I will make it available!

Click here to see all of the designs available:  bail enforcement shirt fugitive recovery agent t-shirts

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A Very Blonde Texas Aggie

Three women go down to Mexico one night to celebrate college graduation. They get drunk and wake up in jail, only to find that they are to be executed in the morning - though none of them can remember what they did the night before.

The first one, a redhead, is strapped in the electric chair and is asked if she has any last words. She says, "I just graduated from Trinity Bible College and believe in the power of God to intervene on the behalf of the innocent." They throw the switch and nothing happens. They all immediately fall to the floor on their knees, beg for forgiveness, and release her.

The second one, a brunette, is strapped in and gives her last words. "I just graduated from the Harvard School of Law and I believe in the power of Justice to intervene on the part of the innocent." They throw the switch and again, nothing happens. Again they all immediately fall to their knees, beg for forgiveness and release her.

The last one (you know it), a blonde, is strapped in and says, "Well I'm from Texas A&M and just graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and I'll tell ya right now, ya'll ain't gonna electrocute nobody if you don't plug this thing in!"

Thought for the Day

Handle every situation like a dog.  If you can't eat it or hump it, piss on it and walk away.

Death Threats Against El Scott Harrell

Apparently a serial killer has made a serious death threat against me as a result of my blog posting.  Let's hope that this is not my last post.

More information on the TV news coverage can be found here, you'll need speakers to hear the story:  http://www.sliceoflifetv.com/index.php?id=6327377e

Thanks to all who have volunteered to stay by my side, armed of course, during this difficult time for me and my family.

El Scott Harrell

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Duane Dog Chapman Audio Clip Of His Voicemail

Never say never, Duane.

I received a few calls from national press folks this morning (starting at 6am) wanting a comment about Dawg The Bounty Hunter's recent audio taped tirade in which Duane Chapman used the word "nigger" 6 times in his self-serving effort to break up his son's relationship with an African-American woman… I listened to the unedited version of the tape on the National Enquirer website this morning to get up to speed and I was, needless to say, appalled by what I heard. 

The crux of the entire conversation is that he told his son, Tucker, that he could no longer work for his company if he was going to date a "girl like that" because they use the "N word" in his house and that he was not going to take the chance of ruining everything that he has worked for over 30 years simply because Dog Chapman was afraid that he might slip up and use the N-word in her presence and she would run and tell the media. 

The media hound's public relations camp is trying to spin it that he was angry and trying to get them to split because of her questionable character.  This is of course bullshit; all one has to do is listen to the audio of the telephone call.  Duane Chapman has asked to meet with leaders of the Black Community to discuss making this right.  Why?  I suspect that it's not because it is the RIGHT thing to do but because he is more worried about his fame and fortune.

Let's get this straight: Duane Chapman was excluding Tucker from the family business because he was afraid of getting caught using the N word and having his television career go down the toilet.  Good job, ace- you really nailed that one. 6 times to be exact.

Honestly, I was not surprised that he admitted to using the N word regularly, but I was shocked that despite his Christian blather he is deeply and unequivocally such a racist.  To tell his son that he could not work for the family business because he was dating an African-American for any reason at all is evil. 

It is hatred.  It is ignorance.  It is reprehensible.  It is NOT Christian.

Yes, he caught Andrew Luster.  Yes, he wants you to believe that he is cleaning up the streets of Hawaii.  And yes, he evangelizes to the fugitives he captures in an effort to change their lives around, but this is not a guy who just used the N word in a moment of passion; this is a guy whose soul was laid bare in just a few minutes of private conversation with his son.  Many of us tried to tell the media that the hound was playing a well-rehearsed, made-for-TV role and that this was not America’s hero; in fact, that the evidence of his true character would one day present itself.

Here we are today. 

Duane, you think Don Imus had it rough when he coined the phrase nappy-headed hos?  Brace for shock and hold onto your ass, you're in for a rough ride.  Needless to say, you embarrassed a lot of people with your hateful speech.

I suppose every dog does have his day, and today, Duane Dog Chapman goes back from whence he came- notoriety, then obscurity.   

Listen to the audio by clicking here.

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