I was under my house on a cold 1982 winter day working on a broken water pipe with no thoughts of child recovery. I had my cordless phone with me, as you never know when you’ll get a call from Publishers Clearing House.
I did get a call from someone saying they were with the Alabama State Police. Instead of prize money for life, they wanted to serve me with a warrant for my arrest. PIs and cops love to play jokes, so I immediately thought I was being pranked.
I wasn’t in any mood for it, as I was cold, wet and angry. As far as them saying they were from Alabama, I couldn’t really think of anything they would want with me, though I had recently done some work on a child custody case in Huntsville, AL.
The case that took me to Alabama was pretty straight-forward and uneventful. One day a woman came to my office and told me she was in a child custody battle and needed my help. She seemed sincere and presented herself well, and we had a discussion about her problem.
She showed me paperwork from the Harris County family law court showing she had been awarded full custody of her 8-year-old daughter by the Texas court. She was really concerned because her ex-husband, the girl’s father, had grabbed her and taken her to Huntsville, AL.
Everything seemed to be in order, both the paperwork and her story. In those days law enforcement didn’t get very involved in child custody issues, leaving the return of children to the rightful parent who often hired private investigators. When the documents were in order, it was common for a PI to retrieve children. This was especially true when the parent had sole custody.
It seemed like a straight forward case, so we hatched a plan. I would travel to Huntsville and conduct surveillance to locate the child. Once I did so, my client would arrive and we would retrieve the child together. We hoped to keep her under surveillance until an opportunity presented itself to grab her and fly back to Houston.
It Started Out Well, Weather Considered
I took off for Huntsville, AL with the plan. I would first locate the ex-husband and child, then my client would fly out and join me. I wanted her in my car to help with taking the child when the opportunity arose. It didn’t take long to locate the ex, as he was residing with his parents.
Parents, ex and the child were all living in the same residence. They didn’t come outside much though, as the weather was cold with intermittent snow flurries. Even so, I had my client fly in and join me in the surveillance. I didn’t want to have to try to get her to a location in time when an opportunity presented itself.
We would have little time to act, and I didn’t want to stay longer than necessary. The longer the surveillance, the greater the chance of discovery and the plan would likely fail completely. I knew we would only get one shot, so we stuck with it for days during the bad weather.
It had been five long days when Sunday morning arrived and the entire family got in the car and travelled to a nearby Baptist church. I didn’t really like the idea of grabbing a child from a church, but the weather was still lousy so this might be our only shot.
Once everyone was inside the church, we parked the car near the door. I and my client rehearsed what was going to happen. It was 18 degrees and snowing. The key to success would be total surprise and a fast getaway.
When the service was over, the family came out of the front door in the mass of people in the main group. I and my client mixed in with the group. She disguised herself with a hat and sunglasses. When she got close enough to the child, the mom grabbed her up and ran for the car.
We took the family totally by surprise, and we were out of the parking lot before they knew what happened. From the car I called the local police and told them it was the mom with legal paperwork who had taken the child and then quickly hung up.
Rather than go to the local airport where the family would likely be looking for us, we drove across the state line into Mississippi. We took a flight back to Houston from there; mission accomplished. I didn’t learn until later that the Alabama State Police had put out a call that it was a kidnapping and were looking for us.
I still wasn’t overly concerned, as I was certain that once they tracked down the details and the paperwork that they would stop looking and let the matter drop. Or so I thought.
Back to That Alabama State Police Phone Call
You know the smooth way in which I handled this child recovery, so what was their problem? They were adamant on the phone that I had kidnapped the child. I explained that I had never touched the girl, only her mother who had an order from the Harris County courts making her managing conservator.
It seems though that my preliminary research had fallen a bit short. They informed me of another later Alabama court order giving the father custody, and it superseded the Texas order. Even more alarming, the officer advised me that the mother had lost custody due to some child abuse allegations.
Now I was getting really alarmed. We had checked the Alabama legal system for any actions, but somehow had missed this one. Another more critical mistake was not verifying that the Texas order was still valid, as I just filed away a copy for my records. I trusted my client and my due diligence fell short. It’s a mistake I’ll never make again.
A Chance to Avoid Arrest – Ex-cop Courtesy
In part because I was an ex-cop, and also because when I explained the entire situation and my actions, the Alabama State Police were understanding. They knew I had been scammed by my client, but I really had no leverage in the situation. However, they were in contact with their district attorney and proposed a solution.
It was a simple plan for child recovery, even if the execution might not be so easy. They told me that if I would locate the woman and child and return the child to the father, all charges would be dropped. I had talked to a Houston criminal attorney about the situation and he had assured me it was unlikely the charges would hold up anyway. But I was happy to take this approach to getting it over with.
I was also feeling guilty for taking the child, so it would be a better resolution for me personally to help to get her back to where she belonged. Of course, everything would be done on my dime, and it would turn out to be an expensive child recovery.
About-face!
The mom knew she was in the wrong, so she had taken the little girl and run. It took about a week to locate them in hiding with relatives in Cleveland, OH. I jumped on an airplane headed for Cleveland right away with a couple of cover-my-butt documents:
- An Alabama arrest warrant for the mother.
- Paperwork from the Alabama courts authorizing me to take possession of the child and return her to the state.
By this time I was working pretty closely with the Alabama authorities. They contacted the Cleveland police and let them know I was legit so they would work with me. When I arrived, I immediately went to the Cleveland Police Department substation closest to the target address.
I hadn’t brought along a translator, so we had to get past their trouble with and ridicule of my Texas accent. Once we got over that, I told them the entire story and showed them my paperwork. Being an ex-cop, they were somewhat sympathetic, but they were laughing during the entire story.
Even though they thought the whole story was hilarious, they also understood the importance of getting the little girl back to her father’s custody. They agreed to help me locate the child and arrest the mom. I jumped up and said “let’s go get ‘em!” That’s when I learned that it was almost 5 PM, and they wouldn’t help with child recovery on overtime. We agreed to do it the next morning.
They were nice guys who didn’t want me to sit around a hotel room so they took me out and showed me Cleveland that night. Of course, they provided the guide service, but the entertainment and drinks were on me. I told you this was going to be expensive.
I arrived at the police station at 7 AM the next morning, a little the worse for wear, but I wasn’t alone. Being true professionals though, we could get the job done with a hangover. Four police cars went to the subject residence.
The officers split up between the front and back doors to be sure nobody could sneak away once we announced our presence. I was with the front door group, as I could identify the suspect mom. When we knocked on the door, the subject’s aunt answered.
She repeatedly denied that the subject and child were there, claiming she hadn’t seen them in a year or so. She wasn’t very convincing though, and the officers kept pressing her and showed her the arrest warrant. She finally agreed to let us inside the home to search.
We searched every nook, cranny, room and closet and looked under every bed. There was no sign of the mom or child, and this was getting worrisome. The cost of this trip was mounting, and I didn’t want to come away empty-handed. Those guys back in Alabama wouldn’t be very understanding either.
Just when we thought it was over, one of the officers found a door leading to a basement. We went down there and started searching through the clutter. There were piles of boxes, Christmas decorations and other stuff that people accumulate over the years. But we found them hidden among the boxes! I was elated.
I couldn’t resist a few choice words whispered in the subject’s ear as we led her out. Her lies had cost me money and many nights’ sleep. I thanked the officers for their help and the entertainment, and I took the child and headed for the airport.
The little girl wasn’t upset, actually seeming happy that I was taking her back to her father. I called her Dad from the Cleveland airport, and he was clearly emotional and happy she was coming home.
I bought the little girl a Teddy Bear in Cleveland. When we got off the plane in Huntsville, she was holding it when her father and relatives met us. There were plenty of tears and hugs all around. The family was understanding of my situation and treated me well.
The Alabama State Police dropped the kidnapping charges, so I was a free man who still had his PI license. This experience was my last with child repossession. I really didn’t want to do it again. Also, the laws began to change. Now in most cases it is illegal for a PI to assist in taking a child, even if there is a court order. We can be involved, but only with the local police authority also on the case.
I’m OK with that. Want more of these real life case stories? Get a .pdf copy of my book, PI Revelations for download here.