INVESTIGATOR KEEPS EYE ON HOMETOWN

On any given night, Ryan Duvall could be staking out a house under cover of darkness. Or in a bar filming someone through a pinhole camera cloaked behind his shirt button.

He comes equipped with hidden cameras, secret surveillance equipment and other high-tech gadgets.

He roots out secrets and uncovers hidden truths.

It all may seem rather like James Bond: Mr. Duvall, 31, works in Monroe as a private investigator.

"It sounds like it's right out of the movies and it is often that way," he said. "It's a lot of fun."

He recently started his own firm, the Duvall Group Investigations, that probes insurance fraud cases, cheating spouse suspicions and background checks. The Monroe-based search group takes cases throughout the state for about any kind of information service that is needed.

The investigation bug hit Mr. Duvall early.

He began criminal justice courses at Monroe County Community College and later Owens Community College in Toledo, where he graduated in 1995. After college, he started in undercover detail operations with local police departments.

The excitement of the work overtook him and launched his career in private investigations.

"I never really wanted to be a cop," he said. He found the investigations more exciting and with better pay.

He worked with various firms over about a five-year period before launching into business for himself. Much of the work is tracking down insurance claims that are suspected as scams.

He said the companies give him the background of the claim and a short list of information to locate the subject.

From there, he seeks out the first visual contact of the person, which may be through a stakeout outside their home or other means.

One of his favorite ways to "pre-text" a subject is to disguise himself as a pizza delivery person.

"I'll buy a pizza and go to their door," he said. "I'll say I have a pizza for so and so. When they answer, I have a visual contact without them knowing."

The surveillance that follows, often about four or five days' worth, is aimed at checking out the subject's claim.

If he claimed a back injury, he'll see if the person is out jogging or lifting heavy objects.

That's where the gadgets come in.

He'll use long-range lenses that can focus on a subject up to a mile away. Hidden pocket cameras can also catch close-up action in public, while GPS tracking systems are used to keep tabs.

Some of the tools are homemade, some are ordered from companies that specialize in undercover work.

"We have a bunch of sneaky techniques," he said, though many are trade secrets he was not at liberty to divulge.

The gadgets also come in handy for the cheating spouse investigations that his firm also delves into.

Though the probes are not criminal, as the police would conduct, he said it still carries the same thrill.

He's not had any clashes while on surveillance, though he said it is always a possibility.

"I think it's the excitement of maybe being caught," he said.

That adventurous streak is one of the keys to that line of work, though not every day is action-packed.

"We do have our down time as well," he said.

His investigation group does more menial tasks such as background checks and criminal histories. Those go through the same database used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said.

The work requires him to be licensed by the state and to have extensive training in the field. The certification process takes nearly six months.

Since starting the business recently, he's recruited three other investigators and plans to hire two more soon.
You can contact Duvall Group Investigations at 1-800-681-0687