Claimants and their counsel employ all kinds of mechanisms to obfuscate the information needed for successful surveillance.

Every investigation, whether tracking a claimant in insurance litigation, serving a party to a legal process, or locating an heir to an estate, pivots on one critical factor: finding the individual. For some, a quick query on a free public records site, like Whitepages, is enough. Others demand advanced tools, such as Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) databases or neighborhood canvassing tied to recent activity. In the most challenging cases, the target may have erased their digital footprint by selling properties, deleting social media, or relocating to jurisdictions with restricted records.

In this article, we'll present a hypothetical case involving John A. Smith, a claimant who has filed a multimillion-dollar injury claim under the Defense Base Act (DBA), a federal workers’ compensation program for civilian employees working overseas on U.S. military bases or under U.S. government contracts. As the story develops, we will dive into the strategies and tenacity needed to locate such elusive individual. Crafted by Turnstone Intelligence, this narrative draws from real cases our investigators have successfully resolved by recombining cold leads in creative ways and breakthroughs to illustrate how persistence pays off.

Preliminary Information: The Starting Point

Every search begins with the client’s data. For John A. Smith, we receive:

• Name: John A. Smith

• Date of Birth: January 1, 1981

• Address: 34334 Texas Avenue, Suite 1776, San Antonio, TX (listed on the Work Comp claim)

• Add'l: A photograph

We pull a "comprehensive report" from our preferred data broker, which provides:

• Historical Address: 123 Saint Anthony St., San Antonio, TX ( Ascending (owned until 2020, now held by Jones Properties, LLC)

• Property Ownership: None currently

• Vehicle Ownership: None currently

• Relative: Bartholomew Smith (born 1953, deceased 2009)

What’s in the Report?

Data broker reports vary but may include:

Data Type	Details
Contact Info	Historical phone numbers, emails, or addresses
Vehicle Info	Make, model, color, license plate (if owned)
Associates	Family, roommates, or business contacts
Legal Records	Court filings, liens, or bankruptcies

For a common name like John Smith, specifics like a date of birth or relative’s name narrow the field. Here, the lack of current property or vehicle data suggests John may be intentionally hiding, possibly due to his DBA claim.

The UPS Store Red Flag

Before any fieldwork, Turnstone Intelligence conducts map reconnaissance, a routine step that pays dividends. Checking 34334 Texas Avenue, Suite 1776, we discover it’s a UPS store, with the “suite” number actually a mailbox. This tactic is common among those obscuring their residence, especially claimants in high-stakes litigation. Many agencies might only realize this upon arriving, wasting time and resources, and often fail to inform clients to save face. Our early catch shifts focus to the historical address, 123 Saint Anthony St.

Some Resources and Techniques from The Investigator’s Toolkit

Locating John demands a blend of free tools, paid databases, and fieldwork. Below, we list key resources, describe them briefly, and apply them to John’s case, revealing his story incrementally.

Resource/Technique	Description	Hypothetical Scenario
Free People Search Websites	Aggregators like Whitepages or Spokeo	Searching “John A. Smith, DOB 01/01/1981” yields the old Texas address, but it’s outdated.
Paid Data Sites	TLOxp, Delvepoint for deep background checks	TLOxp confirms the San Antonio address and Bartholomew Smith, but no recent hits.
ALPR Databases	Vehicle location logs via license plate scans	No vehicle tied to John initially, but becomes crucial later.
Pretexting	Info gathering under false pretense (if legal)	John’s attorney representation blocks direct contact; neighbors offer vague clues.
Social Media/OSINT	Open-source intelligence from online platforms	John’s accounts are gone, but Bartholomew’s obituary names sons John and Cecil as engravers.
ClustrMaps	Maps same-name individuals by location	Shows many John Smiths in Texas, fewer in Arkansas, hinting at a broader search.
Neighbor Interviews	Door-knocking for firsthand intel	A neighbor at 123 Saint Anthony recalls John’s 2020 move, mentioning “family up north.”
Criminal/Arrest Records	Criminal history as location leads	John’s clean, but the engraving trade offers a new angle.
Business Records	Ownership or ties to businesses	Cecil D. Smith runs Bart Smith and Sons Engraving in Texarkana, AR.
Court Records	Legal filings with address clues	Often not indexed by search engines, but very useful
Property Tax Records	Ownership and tax status of properties	Texarkana property tied to B. and T. Smith Family Trust, linked to Teresa Smith.
Vehicle Registration Records	Vehicles linked to target or associates	Key to cracking the case, as we’ll see.

The John A. Smith Case: Piecing It Together

Let’s trace the investigation, step by step, as clues unfold.

1: The UPS Store and Historical Address

With the UPS store address exposed as a mailbox, we pivot to 123 Saint Anthony St. While some agencies might waste days surveilling the UPS store, our map reconnaissance saves time. We stake out the historical address, hoping John maintains ties there.

2: Surveillance at Saint Anthony Street

During our stakeout at 123 Saint Anthony St., we observe an unidentified adult female leaving the property. We note her description but do not yet know her identity. This is our first clue, but not enough to proceed without further leads.

3: The Obituary Lead

The comprehensive report on the claimant of Bartholomew Smith leads to us searching for his obituary, which names sons John and Cecil D. Smith as pallbearers, both engravers like their father. Cecil’s business in Texarkana, AR—Bart Smith and Sons Engraving—suggests a family connection worth exploring.

4: The Business and Trust

A search with the Texas Division of Corporations finds no business under John, but Cecil runs Bart Smith and Sons Engraving at 987 Graves St., Texarkana, AR. Property records show this address is owned by the B. and T. Smith Family Trust. Re-checking the data report, Teresa Smith—likely Bartholomew’s widow—appears, tying the trust to the family. A Miller County, AR, property search reveals three trust-owned homes.

5: Arkansas Surveillance and Vehicle Clue

We surveil the Arkansas properties. At 987 Graves St., a man matching John’s photo exits and enters a grey Jeep Wrangler with Arkansas plate “SM1TTY9.” A vehicle records search traces the plate to Tina M. Jones, 41, of San Antonio, TX, with an alias, Tina Smith. Her address is listed as 123 Saint Anthony St.—the very address we were surveilling earlier. The unidentified female from Step 2 is likely Tina Jones.

6: The Person Report on Tina Jones

We pull a person report on Tina Jones. The report reveals she has an alias, Tina Smith, and we connect with John Smith through a shared city history. Though their marriage is kept secret (likely using a confidential license in California), the connection is clear. Further investigation shows Tina Smith owns a business, Tina’s Antiques, at 123 Saint Anthony St.

7: Back to San Antonio

With this new information, we return to 123 Saint Anthony St. for surveillance. Our patience pays off when we see John Smith and Tina Jones leaving together. We follow them discreetly to a new address: 567 Newhouse Ln., a subdivision in San Antonio where only a quarter of the houses are complete and occupied. Data broker records still show this property as belonging to D.R. Horton, the builder, indicating John and Tina have recently moved there, possibly to maintain a low profile.

8: Unraveling the Hidden Marriage

Digging deeper into Jones Properties, LLC (the current owner of 123 Saint Anthony St.), we find Tina M. Jones listed alongside John A. Smith. Further investigation uncovers that they married in California using a confidential marriage license, which isn’t publicly recorded. They transferred 123 Saint Anthony St. to a trust named after Tina’s maiden name—Jones—to shield John’s location amid his DBA claim. The new address, 567 Newhouse Ln., is their current residence, with Tina’s business at 123 Saint Anthony St. serving as a front.

Missed Opportunities?

• Trust Records: Cross-referencing “Jones” with the trust earlier could have skipped fieldwork.

• OSINT: A family member’s social media post might have mentioned Tina.

  
  

Why Tenacity Wins

Typical agencies might camp at the UPS store or 123 Saint Anthony St. for three days, bill the client, and move on, banking on easier cases later. Turnstone Intelligence takes a different approach.

• Routine Deep Dives: We scour databases, OSINT, and records others (including data brokers) overlook.

• No Empty Billing: We don’t charge for surveillance unless we locate, identify, and video the claimant.

• Proven Success: Our 94% success rate on tough DBA and Longshore claims doubles the industry average.

  
  

Moreover, many investigative firms charge $700-$1200 for “Background and Social Media/OSINT reports,” which are often just standard person reports from the data brokers, costing $15-$20, rebranded with the firm’s logo, header and footer. Inflating costs without adding value is called "rent-seeking," and it's the love child of greed and ineptitude

. At Turnstone Intelligence, we don't engage in rent-seeking or arbitrage. We create value by applying expert insights and investigative actions, transforming preliminary information into powerful intelligence products that save significantly more money than they cost.

In DBA and Longshore cases, claimant attorneys frequently analyze these reports and guide clients on the typical methods used by surveillance firms. They advise using mailbox addresses or staying off social media, among many other strategies. This ongoing cat-and-mouse game emphasizes the necessity for investigators to outsmart the standard tactics. An upcoming blog article will delve deeper into this "coaching," explaining how attorneys prepare their clients and its implications for insurance professionals.

Locating John A. Smith or any elusive claimant, for that matter, requires seeing connections where others see walls. With grit and ingenuity, no one stays hidden for long.