Not too long ago, I had an acquaintance from my local gym, knowing full well what I do for a living, ask me what my thoughts were on keeping an eye on their teenage child. One that drives and seems to think she knows everything there is to know about life. Well, given the information I already had of this child of 16 going on 30, I simply and emphatically stated that of course I would watch her like a hawk. I explained that he does not need to be interested in much of her personal tribulations but knowing where she is at all times goes a long way. I suggested he place a GPS on her car (which is his car), preferably within the vehicle. I proceeded to tell him of a client (omitting the obvious) where the child was a “saint”, came and went to school, then went to work and then came home directly after only to repeat these steps day after day. Well one day the child started showing up just a bit later and later and later as weeks went by excuse after excuse was given until the parents fearing the worst called and hired me to see what was actually going on. They wanted their child to trust them, so they did not call the manager but kept on asking what may have seemed to be highly intrusive questions of the child in question. The subject was becoming indignant and seems to shut them out with each accusation and or interrogative technique thrown their way.
Habits did change for a while, things appeared to have gone back to normal but there was a definitive change. Things seemed colder around the house, there were no hellos or goodbyes anymore. Heart to heart conversations went by the wayside, family gatherings seemed to be more of a nuisance than a joyous occasion until one day the dad finally had enough. I received the call 6 months into this situation and advised that we begin by placing a GPS on the vehicle in order to monitor the child’s movement while away from the residence. I felt that this would save the parents money and hopefully give them some piece of mind in the interim. Couple of days passed since the GPS was positioned on the outside of the car and patterns started to emerge. I had a list of places the “Subject” should be frequenting and while most of these places were being visited on a daily basis, I also began seeing some odd behavior. Of course to me they were not odd but to the parents who began receiving these reports, these “stops” seemed out of place. We furthered the investigation by conducting what we term as a “Canvass” of the areas the vehicle began to appear. These were not by any definition “safe” locales. On one particular Friday the vehicle had stopped at a known drug corner for approximately one hour and then again for five minutes the next day. Habits remained pretty much the same but the visits to this corner in the outskirts of Charlotte began to increase. The parents did not want to confront their child and lunge accusations without having full knowledge of what was going on so we increased the investigation to include surveillance. My partner and I then began to follow the Subject one day after work and followed the vehicle to the aforementioned corner once again. As expected, we observe an unidentified male walk up to the vehicle, enter the vehicle and depart the area. Mobile surveillance was continued to a desolate parking lot where, after some crafty maneuvering we were able to position ourselves in such a way whereby we could clearly observe what was transpiring within the vehicle. What we found was shocking to say the least. Not in a million years would we have guessed that the Subject was in fact involved in love affair with another man. I know what your thinking, and no its not that. We were shocked because we were convinced that he was in fact using hardcore drugs and was putting himself in danger of either getting seriously hurt or hurting someone else (there’s a lot of back story I’ve left out for sake of brevity).
The relief that was felt by the parents after learning what their child was hiding was not only a refreshing take on the matter but also made us feel good that we were able to bring some clarity to their situation. How they handled the rest was clearly up to them. While it may have seemed somewhat intrusive on the part of the parents it was also necessary. I personally will follow my child and place a GPS on her vehicle when she is of age and I will make it my business to be in her business 24 hrs. a day 7 days a week, no apologies given ( I already am). There are too many stories that have a nasty, horrible and sad ending and I for one hope to never say, ” I wish I could have done more”. I will always advise a client to follow their instinct, until proven differently. Please call WAB Investigations with any questions you may have and I will do my best to steer you in the right direction.