Straight from the pages of a crime novel

Kinsey Investigations is better than fiction

BY ALINA GONZAQUE as seen on Living Brentwood

As the dedicated inside investigator for a growing law firm, B.A. Wolford was often given what her employer called a “Kinsey project.” B.A. knew what that meant.

These projects entailed investigating some-one, running background checks, hunting people down, or serving papers—and she was heavily relied on to complete the tasks. B.A.‘s workload quickly grew beyond the scope of the firm and she founded her own company, where nearly every day is as full of sleuth work as the novels that inspired the business name: Kinsey.

“There is a character in a book series, Kinsey Millhone —written by Sue Grafton -Who was a police officer turned private investigator,” B.A. explains

“The code for my ‘projects ’originated from these books.”

Soon B.A. was building up hours investigating people; other lawyers even started asking if they could “borrow” her for similar work.

At one point, B.A. was presenting evidence in court when the bailiff slipped her a note —The judge wanted to see her. “I thought, uh-oh,” she says with a laugh,

“but he was so impressed, he wanted me to investigate a personal matter for him!”

She passed her licensing exam and was able to open up shop in Marina del Rey as an independent private investigator in 2002. Sue Grafton even gave her approval for the name Kinsey Investigations. “I mailed her a letter explaining how I related to Kinsey Millhone’s adventures and asked her permission to use the name,” B.A.says. “Sue was tickled pink; she wrote me back a beautiful letter with her blessing.”The author would go on to mail Kinsey Investigations letters and signed copies of her books until her death in 2017.

“When I became independent, I immediately started getting work, “she continues. “I joined an association with other P.I.s—many of whom asked me for help..”As a female in a male-dominated industry, she found she was often unnoticed by her targets and discovered a penchant for blending in. “I look like the girl next door,” she says.

“A lot of other P.I.s are retired police, so they find it harder to, say, serve papers. No one is going to answer the door when a tough-looking stranger is on their porch.”

Kinsey Investigations takes on civil cases in four main categories — missing persons, corporate espionage, infidelity issues, and family law—dealing most often in missing persons. Their longest missing person case lasted three years. They found a missing son living homeless across the country from his worried parents. Their shortest case concluded in three hours. According to them, the duration of a case depends on several factors but can be shortened if the information provided is accurate and abundant. So far, Kinsey Investigations has been able to track down all of the missing people it‘s been tasked to find. But sadly, targets are sometimes found under heart-breaking conditions. “One woman disappeared 7 years ago,” B.A. says of a particular case. “The picture her mother gave me was of a stunning young girl, and when I found her, I couldn’t even recognize her. “After discreetly snapping a photo of the suspected daughter, she sent it off to the mother. The mother identified her daughter by a small scar on the bridge of her nose, and a mole on her collarbone”, she says. Although safely recovered, the young woman was drug-addicted and rail-thin. “It‘s a great feeling to be able to tell a parent I‘ve located her child, but there may still be a long road ahead after they are found.”

Infidelity cases can be heart-breaking for different reasons, but Kinsey Investigations recently solved one with a happy ending.

“One husband claimed he was golfing at 4 p.m.”B.A. recounts. “It was winter and the sun was setting around5, so his wife was very suspicious. But, indeed, he was golfing with three other men in the dark at a well-lit golf course, smoking cigars the entire time.”

Each day promises to be different from the last for Kinsey Investigations, but the business seem to excel in all categories.

According to Kinsey, a good private investigator must always be aware of her surroundings, ingenious and tenacious, confident, ethical and, of course, passionate about the job. Employing the many resources they have on hand, they diligently work each case, handling the inevitable surprises. The best part about it? “Finding people and bringing them home to family.”

If you want someone as competent, efficient, and result-oriented as our private investigators in Los Angeles to serve you, wait no more!