Address Investigation by Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum Leads to Family Reunion After 20 Years

Mr Bungert is searching for his daughter – 21 years after her birth, 20 years after he separated from his then-wife and last saw his daughter. "I am getting old," he tells the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum, "and one begins to remember what is important in life, regretting the mistakes made – at least the major ones." Mr Bungert now wants to finally meet his daughter before it may be too late. With the help of a lawyer friend, he initially obtained an extended registration office report, which indicated that the daughter in question lived in Herne in the Ruhr area. However, the post was returned, and the neighbours stated that Mr Bungert’s ex-wife, along with her current husband, the daughter, and two other children, had moved away years ago.

Online Search | Database Checks | Account Verification | Tracking Through Former Landlords

An initial online search produced numerous results for the names of the persons sought, but these were so unspecific and opaque due to common name combinations that no conclusion could be reached without additional exclusion criteria. The Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum therefore switched to other investigative methods: From previous maintenance payments, Mr Bungert knew of a bank account belonging to his ex-wife, which was checked by our Bochum detectives on the evening of the assignment. However, as there had been no account activity for over three years, no current address could be determined this way. Our economic investigators initiated an automated database search through our affiliated partners, which typically takes a few days to a few weeks. Consequently, the following day our private detectives investigated the current tenants of the last known address in Herne – a commercial property. The proprietor informed them by phone that he had worked in the building for many years and that many tenants had come and gone in the upstairs flat. While the names of the target persons were unknown to him, he recalled a woman matching the description with a daughter of that age. Unfortunately, he could do no more. Our detective asked if he would kindly provide the landlord’s contact details, as he might still have records of the target persons.

A few minutes later, the investigating researcher of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum had the landlord on the line. The target persons had lived in the property for only a few months. The landlord said he would check his records for a forwarding address. Fifteen minutes later, he called the Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum (+49 234 3075 0073) to report that the target persons and the partner of Mr Bungert’s ex-wife had lived with him for four months in 2002 before moving to another district of Herne and shortly thereafter to nearby Witten. The specific forwarding addresses were no longer known to the landlord. However, he recalled that Mr Bungert’s ex-wife had been pregnant in her final period in Herne (circa 2003) and provided our Bochum detective with the name and telephone number of the subsequent landlord, who also lived in Herne and remembered the family well, though he had discarded the forwarding address years ago. He only knew that all three had moved from Herne to Witten.

Address Check in Hagen – Possible False Address?

Meanwhile, the database search results arrived, revealing a series of further addresses in the Bochum–Hagen–Iserlohn–Dortmund area from 2003 to 2014. The most recent address was from October 2014 in Hagen. One of our Bochum detectives visited the location to verify it on site: the property comprised two buildings, a front building with a medical practice, and a small rear bungalow. No names of the persons sought were found on doorbells or letterboxes. The investigator entered the practice and inquired with the staff about the target persons – the names were entirely unknown. Even the postman, who our Bochum detective happened to meet leaving the practice, could not recognise the names despite delivering in the area for years. Since postal workers usually know the residents’ names very well, it was assumed that the target persons had either lived there very briefly or had used it as a fictitious registration address.

Our private investigator returned to the bungalow at the rear and rang the doorbell. An unknown male answered, and after a plausibly explained introduction, the detective asked if he knew the target persons. He did not. The previous tenant had been an older single man. On request, he willingly provided our Bochum private detective with the landlord’s contact details, who was immediately reachable by phone. The target persons were known to her. Contracts had almost been finalised, but shortly before moving in, the target persons withdrew and cancelled the tenancy. The landlord did not know why or where they had gone.

Somewhat Recent Lead Through Obituary in Herdecke

Given the long list of previously unknown residential addresses dating back to the early 2000s, the Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum repeated the initial online search using updated parameters. The investigators found a hit: a 2012 obituary in Herdecke created by a person with the name of the sought daughter. The deceased bore the name of the daughter’s grandfather, i.e., the former father-in-law of the client of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum. A coincidental name match could almost certainly be ruled out.

Although the lead was not extremely fresh, it was reasonably current. Further examination of the obituaries revealed a connection to a person with the name of Mr Bungert’s ex-wife. Looking at preceding years, our investigators found another hit: the death notice of Mr Bungert’s former mother-in-law from 2010 – again created by the daughter and signed by the ex-wife. Any remaining doubts about a name mix-up were thus eliminated.

Investigative Breakthrough via Social Media

With the newly acquired information, the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum now knew that the target persons must have lived in Herdecke at least between 2010 and 2012. Following this lead, the investigators located a highly informative social media profile of the sought daughter. They were able to inform Mr Bungert that he is the grandfather of a granddaughter. Current photos of the daughter revealed a strong resemblance to Mr Bungert, the client of our Bochum detectives. Further research uncovered a profile of Mr Bungert’s ex-wife, revealing her current name following remarriage. Her new husband also had a profile with a phone number listed – a preliminary check call by our investigators failed, as the number was no longer in service.

Using the above profiles, Facebook accounts for all three persons – daughter, ex-wife, and new husband – were identified, providing additional information. Our Bochum detectives learned that the ex-wife works as a hairdresser and then called all hair salons listed in Herdecke directories – unfortunately without success. The new husband’s Facebook profile referenced a sole proprietorship, with the imprint listing a telephone number and address in Herdecke. An associated eBay seller profile matched this imprint. The Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum attempted several times during the same day to contact the proprietor at the listed number, but no answer was received during normal business hours. Only after 8 p.m. did the business owner pick up the phone, indicating he runs the business part-time alongside another occupation, returning home just then. This suggested that the telephone number belonged to the family’s private line, allowing our Bochum detectives to pinpoint their current location.

Phone Call with the Ex-Wife | Reunion with the Daughter

After a brief conversation with the new husband, he handed the phone to Mr Bungert’s ex-wife. She confirmed she resides at the address listed in the imprint of the sole proprietorship. The investigator explained the purpose of his call and asked if he could pass her contact details to the client of Kurtz Detective Agency Bochum so that he could contact her regarding their daughter. She swallowed audibly, paused for a few seconds, and finally consented. Mr Bungert was informed of the results the next morning. A few days later, he reported that he had already made contact with his daughter and arranged a meeting.

All names and locations have, of course, been altered to ensure complete anonymity.