locating a driver

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:43 pm

Time is of the essence! My daughter's car was it by an uninsured driver in Milwaukee. At her first court date, the driver did not show and the court personnel told us that we would need to locate this young man, as the Racine County Sheriffs department couldn't locate him. I have his DL#, vin#, license plate number, former address and I still can not locate him. Do you know if there is any other way to find him? Employer records? We are at a loss! I need this soon, court date is 1/5/09!!!!

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 6:56 pm

Hello kscirb and welcome to the form,you will find a lot of good people, information and support here. I hope your daughter's alright. If you could give more information please. What is court case for? What did sheriff mean by? could not locate him. What did they do to locate him? Was anyone else with him in his car? ie friends that might know where he is. Where was he coming from or where was he going, Does he have family in the area? You mention employer record's,do you know where he worked ? Try to think of everything you know about him. The more you know, the closer you are to finding him.

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:10 pm

Thank you justlogic! My daughter is okay. she was not in the car at the time, it was parked. The sheriffs office in Racine went to the address that was listed on the accident report and was told that he moved. (The address is his parents' house.) We were told that were going to have to locate him. We are trying to locate so that he may be subpoenaed. The damage to her car was approx. $700.00 and he is uninsured. She is a college student and that $ is definitely needed. I am unable to find his employment records, as I do not know his ss#. i appreciate your input. I am going to the neighbors of his parents! Got anything else I can try?

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:03 pm

Under this type of situation it’s not usual for parents to be untruthful. It’s probably still his legal address. Is the driver the registered and legal owner of the vehicle and what is the driver’s age?

Read the below information on substitute service Wisconsin rules of civil procedure 801.11 (1) (b)
801.11 Personal jurisdiction, manner of serving summons for.
A court of this state having jurisdiction of the subject matter and grounds for personal jurisdiction as provided in s. 801.05 may exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant by service of a summons as follows:
1. NATURAL PERSON. Except as provided in sub. (2) upon a natural person:
a. By personally serving the summons upon the defendant either within or without this state.
b. If with reasonable diligence the defendant cannot be served under par. (a), then by leaving a copy of the summons at the defendant's usual place of abode:
i. In the presence of some competent member of the family at least 14 years of age, who shall be informed of the contents thereof;
1m. In the presence of a competent adult, currently residing in the abode of the defendant, who shall be informed of the contents of the summons; or
ii. Pursuant to the law for the substituted service of summons or like process upon defendants in actions brought in courts of general jurisdiction of the state in which service is made.
c. If with reasonable diligence the defendant cannot be served under par. (a) or (b), service may be made by publication of the summons as a class 3 notice, under ch. 985, and by mailing. If the defendant's post-office address is known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained, there shall be mailed to the defendant, at or immediately prior to the first publication, a copy of the summons and a copy of the complaint. The mailing may be omitted if the post-office address cannot be ascertained with reasonable diligence.
d. In any case, by serving the summons in a manner specified by any other statute upon the defendant or upon an agent authorized by appointment or by law to accept service of the summons for the defendant.
http://www.search-for-servers.com/process-server-tools/process-serving-laws/wi.htm

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:26 pm

They say to never assume,but let's say it's likely the parent's know where he is and he may still live there. If all the police could find was the address given in the report,it may be the only one of record I could find as well,or maybe they didn't look very hard. You could watch the parent's house. If he still lives there it won't take long to find out we are all creatures of habit and have our daily routine's. He may possibly be there Christmas day. I don't know the law's in your state,but in mine you could have a friend that was willing to sit it out to serve the papers as a Christmas gift on his arrival. I will send you a Pm.

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 2:44 pm

Has the legal and registered owner of the vehicle been verified, have you checked to see if he’s on probation, parole or in custody or if he still receives mail at the address or if a change of address was filed with the post office. Some people are very adept at avoiding process this may or not be the case however you still need to be resourceful and do some due diligence; establish a nexus between the subject and residence and do a substitute service if all else fails a public notice. You should win by default if he doesn’t appear. Of course collecting a judgment in a civil matter is another matter but lets cross that bridge later. In Wisconsin any adult over the age of eighteen that is not a party to the case, may serve the papers.

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:34 pm

kscrib, Welcome to Detective Forums!! Very Happy

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:34 pm

WATCHMAN: How does one find the records for probation, parole or in custody?
I am surprised at the state laws in Wisconsin. Why didn't the police just leave the papers with his parents? Shouldn't he have done that since the address was the one on record? It is surprising to me that we are the ones doing all the research. Don't the police departments have more resources that are free to them to use?
Any other ideas on how he might be found? What sort of records am I overlooking?
Thanks for your assistance. This is quite interesting!

Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:34 am

kscrib,

Quote:

How does one find the records for probation, parole or in custody?

Here are some sites that may be of interest to you in Wisconsin.
The Parole Commission in Wisconsin: http://www.wi-doc.com/Parole_Commission.htm

Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA)
Access to the Public Records of the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP): http://wcca.wicourts.gov/index.xsl

Wisconsin Free Public Records Directory:
http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/Wisconsin.htm

I hope you find the above resources of interest. Thanks!! Smile

Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:26 am

In addition to Bullets info you can call the county jail to find out if someone’s in custody 262-636-3929, have the person’s full name and date of birth.

Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:57 pm

I am not having much luck. Thank you WATCHMAN, I need contact the Sheriff's department and they are looking into it and will be back to me. Does anyone know how to get employee records? I know it is impossible to get ssn#. My thinking is that if we can locate his employer, then we have another place in which he can be served! I am desperate.

JUSTLOGIC, could you e-mail me again? I think there is something you can assist me with!
Thanks