National and International Person Searches by Detectives

Anyone who occasionally “zaps” through the early evening programming of private TV channels may have noticed the growing interest in locating relatives not seen for decades, often using small-format shows combined with professional detective work across all continents. Before the era of global connectivity, international person-search assignments were difficult to carry out and, due to uncertain outcomes and low chances of success, were rarely entrusted to detectives like those at Aaden Detective Agency Berlin.

 

With digitalisation and expanded research tools, not only professional investigative services but also several private TV stations began taking on such cases. Their high-profile successes turned the concept into a popular trend. Public broadcasters followed suit with their prime-time shows, while RTL’s pioneering programme “Vermisst” still achieves impressive ratings of 11.6–15% and 4–5 million regular viewers.

 

Interest in reconnecting with lost friends and relatives continues to rise. However, not everyone wants to appear on television, often in a potentially awkward light. Therefore, many turn to specialists such as the Aaden Detectives Berlin for national and international person searches: +49 30 2016 9221-0.

When Personal Research Falls Short

The aforementioned television shows are particularly successful because, with ever-advancing globalisation, the hope of actually finding a lost friend or relative has become realistic. With a simple Facebook, telephone directory, or internet search, private individuals can only rarely determine where the uncle they have painfully missed since childhood or the best friend from the past now lives and works. Simple research sometimes does lead to success, for example if the sought person is listed in the telephone directory or is active on social networks, but especially when searching for older people or individuals who explicitly value their privacy, the research becomes more difficult. The detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Berlin are therefore frequently commissioned by people of all ages to find relatives and friends and re-establish contact with them after it was lost through moves, disputes, or other problems.

Numerous Research Possibilities for Berlin Detectives

The fact that only the most spectacular and unbelievable cases are selected and researched for television productions also means that the “smaller” searches end up on the desks of our Berlin detectives. Our investigators have far more options than the public research methods available to everyone (residents’ registration checks, the internet, telephone directories): through so-called insider knowledge, expertise in person search, and above all excellent contacts for information gathering, our private detectives from Berlin succeed in determining the whereabouts of missing persons in the clear majority of cases, both nationally and internationally. For example, private individuals cannot pursue vehicle owner tracing, whereas Aaden Detective Agency Berlin makes use of this and numerous other options to bring a person search to a successful conclusion.

A Case Example from Berlin: Missing Brother

The Aaden Detectives Berlin recently solved a case reaching far back into the past in which the senior citizen Louise Erkner wanted to find her brother Leopold, whom she had painfully missed since the end of the Second World War. He was seven years old at the time, she was four, and the involuntary separation occurred through adoption. Louise Erkner commissioned the person search through her son, as all other avenues had already been tried within the family and had proven unsuccessful.

 

In addition to the usual online research via social networks, telephone directories, and person registers of listed associations, Aaden Detective Agency Berlin investigated Leopold Erkner in numerous German cities. He was listed in the residents’ registration records as a native of Berlin, but his later places of residence could no longer be reconstructed amidst the turmoil of post-war Germany. The private investigators had a tough nut to crack: through painstaking work, they went through all available school rosters from schools in Berlin’s immediate vicinity based on an existing clue. The breakthrough came after three weeks; Leopold Erkner, now registered under the surname Retzow, had attended a grammar school in Potsdam and completed his Abitur there. Through on-site research—in a fortunately well-organised and complete archive—our private detectives from Berlin found the family’s former address data for the Retzows, although the family had officially moved away to an unknown address.

Person Search Leads to Great Britain

To determine the sought person’s further places of residence and contact details, the investigators of Aaden Detective Agency Berlin then questioned the former neighbours of the Retzow family in a small village not far from the Brandenburg state capital; fortunately, some of them were still living there, as they had never moved out of their parents’ home. An older gentleman provided the next strong lead: the Retzows had emigrated to Great Britain in the mid-1950s because the family father had obtained a job with a large, well-known company there. Thanks to their good business contacts in England, our private detectives were able to report a highly positive interim result to Louise Erkner: Leopold Retzow had been listed there as a resident of a small town in central England since the 1960s. Working together with British detectives on site, it was eventually established that Leopold Retzow still lived there and, despite his age, served as bridge master of the local bridge club.

 

Louise Erkner was overjoyed and could hardly wait for the first contact. However, the private detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Berlin proceeded cautiously in line with their professional ethos, as they did not want to give the now long-settled Leopold Retzow the shock of a lifetime. After an initial written contact, he was so moved and delighted that a short time later he travelled to Berlin together with his son to see his sister Louise again. The reunion of the two siblings and their respective families is therefore a fine example of the success of investigative person searches and represents the most rewarding outcome of all for our detectives from Berlin.

Are You Looking for a Loved One?

Even if it does not seem that way, it remains difficult—and in some cases impossible—even within Germany and the German-speaking region to find relatives who have been lost from sight, with the amount of time elapsed significantly affecting the level of difficulty. However, the private detectives of Aaden Detective Agency Berlin draw on such a wealth of successful reunions and person searches that they are happy to take on any further search and are always available for follow-up questions in such personal and moving cases: info@aaden-detektive-berlin.de.

Notice

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations of the operation and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

Aaden Detectives Berlin

Stresemannstraße 23

D-10963 Berlin

Tel.: +49 30 2016 9221-0

Fax: +49 30 2016 9221-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-berlin.de

Web: https://www.aaden-detektive-berlin.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824