New Britain herald., 1929-01-12
LOCATE ABSENTEES
 ON SLENDER CLUES
Police Often Called Upon to
 Find Missing Persons

IaiilnS 10 the iOt or investigators In
 various lines is that of locating
 persons who. for one reason or an-
 other, leave their places of abode
 after short periods of residence and
 move on without notifying anyone
 of their destination or otherwise
 making 1t possible to trace them
 easily. The police of New Britain
 frequently are requested to find cer-
 tain men and women, not always
 for the purpose of prosecuting them
 or turning them over to the authori-
 ties of other places, although that
 is, as 2 rule. the reason for the search and knowledge of the fact is
 frequently the principal reason for the sudden departure of the miss ing ones.
 These hunts are not always inter- esting, despite the glanor and the romance that are often woven about such incidents in fiction, and more
 work is required, whether the search is successful or not. Experi- enced men in this work can be found in every police department and in private detective agencies. but there are also any number of them in the employ of insurance companies and other organizations about whose activities considerably less is known to the public than can be readily learned about the constituted authorities of any com- munity. In their work they come in contact with countless individuals of all types. and situations confront them that are at once startling and puzzling. yet they are expected to carry on and overcome all sorts of obstacles if they would be success ful..
 Got Tip by Surprise
 Recently. an investigator lacking law, was in New Britain on the trail of a man who was a resident of a city in the far west in 1927, but whose whereabouts since that time could not be learned by an or Eanization which was charged with the task of finding him and which had practically promised to conduct tho search successfully. The trail was cold for more than a year and no less than seven investigators had fallen down completely before an old man. dropping in to use the public telephone in drug store in a city 800 miles distant from the x,c 1O heard 10 mention third party's name within hearing Of a woman who was waiting outside the tele- phone booth.
 The woman had been the sweet heart of one of the investigators who was on the hunt in its early stages and had often talked ovel the case with him, consequently she was very familiar with all the de- tails and the name she heard while waiting had a significance to her which it lacked to anyone else in | the store. Following the old man. she managed to become acquainted | with him and through d very skill full use of her wits, came into pos session of information of a most | valuable nature. but the sweetheart | of old had loEg since severed his connection with the searching or Eanization and she knew nobody else to whom she could communi- cate her findings.
 Puts Puzzle Together
 After considering the situation several days, however. she wrote to the office of the concern and with in d month the trail was warm. It led to several places in the south and finally to Connecticut. The in Nestigator who was in New Britain and from whom the details were learned. thought he was beaten when an especially promising tip proved worthless in Waterbury, but he persisted in the hunt and while in this city he had the satisfaction of piecing together the most impor- tant details he had obtained since arriving in New England. Beyond the fact that he did not locate the man he sought in New Britain. local residents who knew Of the case never learned the ultimate outcome of the search.
 Rooming houses in various parts Of the city are known to have been the temporary abode of men. anu women, too, who seemed to drop out of sight without any reason and not more than a day or two before uop,eopo hapf ou f;pdipu 4bop, yuv in appearance. Policemen often are detailed to locate men who are known in other cities as residents of certain street. only to find that they moved to another address or left town entirely. several months prior to the time they became known in the place from which tha request for the search came. To sonfe of those in this category. d home address means little or noth- Ing. They live alone and either have no relatives or are out of touch with them. SO that they do not care they are reached or nor.
 Experience that comes of long with police work quali- { lies detectlVeS for search duty and makes their assignment compara- lively easy in some cases in which ess persistent searchers would fan They learn to expect. among other { hings. that they cannot always tart on the search with sufficient information to make the slightest Z on the task ahead of | hem, not even having the correc, ( ,ame of their quarry in some In- , 'tances. Some times they surprise l heir subjects with the information hat they have been traced. ana Igain they complete the hunt and ind out that for every move they ! made. they were checkmated all ]. Ilong the line. and in practically :, very case that requires weeks Or