International Genealogical Search

Needle in a Haystack

Objective: Locate a missing heir who had apparently vanished

Year: 2006

Overview: We were asked to find a man called Dane following the death of a relative. His uncle had left Dane a sizeable trust in his will.

Challenges: Dane had not been seen for more than 25-years! Dane was going to be difficult to locate because he was:

• Estranged from his family for so long
• Had no last known address
• Left no electronic footprints generated by utility and credit card bills

Dane appeared to live under the radar of society but at IGS we never give up. Back to the drawing board we re-scrutinized our files and contacted a former associate of Dane’s who had last spoken to Dane years before. Incredibly, the man turned up some new information which in turn led us down a new avenue of inquiry.

Results: Within several days we found our man. The timing is impeccable as Dane revealed that he had recently become homeless and needed surgery for a back injury. The money his uncle left for him paid for a new home and a much needed operation. As this story shows at IGS we always go the extra mile. We don’t get our 97 % success rate just by giving up.