Lauth Investigations International

What Lauth Investigations International does

Lauth Investigations International is a privately held investigative agency founded in 1993 by Thomas Lauth and headquartered at 201 N. Illinois Street, 16th Floor, South Tower, Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm specializes in missing persons investigations, serving families of missing children, teens, adults, elderly persons, kidnapping and parental abduction victims, suspected human trafficking cases, and unsolved homicides, and reports an 85% success rate over 30+ years of operation. Beyond the core Missing Persons Division, Lauth operates an Investigations Division (corporate investigations, due diligence, fraud, and litigation support), a Return Assets Division (heir search, forensic genealogy, and unclaimed property recovery, with a reported $60 million in globally recovered assets impacting 10,175 claimants), and a Heir Search Division. The team is drawn from former FBI Special Agents, U.S. Army combat veterans, U.S. Navy Intelligence personnel, and seasoned law enforcement professionals, with documented case coordination through Interpol, the FBI, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Consulate, and foreign embassies across Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

The business model is professional services: clients (predominantly individual families in crisis, with secondary non-profit and corporate segments) engage the firm via direct phone (317-951-1100, 1-800-889-FIND), a website consultation form, or 24-hour emergency response. Pricing is described as flat-fee for missing persons cases rather than hourly billing, with free confidential consultations as the lead capture mechanic. Distribution is direct-to-consumer with a sales-led GTM motion, supported by content marketing through the Missing Persons Blog (2023 FeedSpot Top Resource), organic social media across Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn, and extensive earned media (NYT, USA Today, Essence, Vice, Discovery+ Disappeared series, regional outlets). Go-to-market is inbound-driven, with referral and repeat patterns anchored by nearly 20 years of advisory relationships with the National Center for Missing Adults and Nation's Missing Children Organization.

Operationally, the firm is a boutique practice with 1-10 reported employees and a long-tenured leadership team (Founder & CEO Thomas Lauth; Executive Vice President Christie Haas overseeing development and growth; a research and media specialist; intelligence investigators and analysts; and field private investigators). The technology stack is non-productized: confidential authorized databases, social media investigation tools, ancestry data, and direct agency relationships, with no public API, no software-as-a-service offering, and no disclosed AI/ML capability. Revenue mechanics are episodic case-based fees supplemented by heir search and corporate investigation work, with no institutional funding, acquisitions, or external investors indicated.

Name

Lauth Investigations International

Legal name

Lauth Investigations International

Website

https://lauthmissingpersons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lauth Investigations International is a privately held, Indianapolis-based investigative agency founded in 1993 that specializes in missing persons cases for families, also offering corporate due diligence, heir search, and asset recovery. A small team of former FBI agents, military veterans, and law enforcement professionals coordinates domestic and international cases with an 85% claimed success rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Investigation Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Domestic/Family & Matrimonial Investigations (BPAKAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital/Online Investigations & OSINT (Non-cyber) (BPAKAEAF), Litigation Support & Civil Investigations (Witness/Asset/Skip Tracing) (BPAKAEAE)

Keywords

• Missing persons investigations
• Private investigation services
• Parental abduction recovery
• Heir search services
• Asset recovery investigations

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Investigation Services: Fees charged for professional missing persons investigation services including missing children, adults, elderly, kidnapping cases, sex trafficking cases, and unsolved homicides. Only charges flat fees for missing person cases.
2. Asset Recovery Services: Return Assets Division reported recovering $60 million in assets globally, impacting 10,175 claimants. Part of broader Lauth Investigations International operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lauth Investigations International is a private investigation firm that locates missing children, teens, adults, and elderly persons, and investigates kidnappings, parental abductions, sex trafficking, and unsolved homicides. The firm operates multiple internal divisions covering missing persons investigations, corporate investigations and due diligence, forensic genealogy and heir search, and financial asset recovery, with international case coordination across Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Product overview

Lauth Investigations International operates as a missing persons investigation firm with a platform-plus-divisions architecture. The core Missing Persons Investigations service encompasses specialized investigations including kidnappings & parental abductions, missing & endangered children, missing adults with mental illness, elderly missing persons, sex trafficking cases, and unsolved homicides. The company operates multiple divisions: the Investigations Division (corporate investigations, due diligence, fraud, and litigation support), the Return Assets Division (heir search, forensic genealogy, unclaimed property investigations, and financial asset recovery), and the Heir Search Division (specialized heir identification and genealogical research). The firm also maintains a Missing Persons Blog as a content resource for families. All services are delivered by former FBI agents, military veterans, and experienced law enforcement professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kidnappings and Parental Abductions Investigation International abduction investigation services including coordination with Interpol, FBI, U.S. State Department, and foreign embassies to locate individuals taken across international borders. Targeted at families dealing with kidnapping or parental abduction cases across domestic or international jurisdictions.
• Missing and Endangered Children Investigation Investigation services for missing children that treats every case as at-risk and highest priority, never dismissed as a runaway. For families facing the trauma of a missing child.
• Missing Adults with Mental Illness Investigation Investigation services for missing adults with mental illness, emphasizing the critical first 72 hours and including coordination with mental health professionals and advocacy organizations. For families of missing adults whose mental health is a factor.
• Missing Elderly Adults Investigation Investigation services for missing elderly adults, including 24-hour rapid response and Silver Alert coordination for cases involving dementia and cognitive impairments. For families of missing elderly loved ones.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% success rate in locating missing persons
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• InterpolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational police cooperation organization for cross-border missing persons cases. Lauth team has worked with Interpol on international abduction cases.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with FBI on cases involving missing persons, unsolved homicides, and high-profile investigations.
• U.S. State DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination with U.S. State Department for international cases and American citizens missing abroad.
• U.S. ConsulatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with U.S. Consulate for cases involving Americans missing overseas.
• Foreign EmbassiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination with foreign embassies for international abduction cases and missing persons investigations abroad.
• National Center for Missing AdultscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNearly 20 years of volunteer advisory relationship. Thomas Lauth served as Volunteer Advisor. Organization provides endorsement and case referrals.
• Nation's Missing Children OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThomas Lauth served as Volunteer Advisor for nearly 20 years. Organization provides advocacy and support for missing children cases.
• Missing Persons Organizations NationwideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular collaboration with various missing persons organizations across the country for case support and resources.
• Discovery+ / Investigation DiscoveryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKirsten Brueggeman case featured on Disappeared series, reaching national television audience. Media partnership for case awareness.
• National Media OrganizationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured in major news outlets including NY Times, USA Today, Essence Magazine, Vice, providing expert commentary and analysis on missing persons cases.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kroll: Global investigations, risk, and security firm with deep corporate, fraud, and litigation support practices. Comparable on investigation service category and international reach but operates at vastly larger scale with a corporate/B2B focus rather than family missing-persons work.
• Control Risks: Global risk consultancy with significant investigative services for corporate and government clients. Comparable on cross-border investigation capability but focused on corporate due diligence and political risk rather than family missing-persons cases.
• Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations: One of the largest U.S. private investigation firms with broad corporate and individual investigation services. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping investigation capabilities but without Lauth's missing-persons specialization.
• Allied Universal Compliance & Investigations: Major U.S. security and investigation services firm offering compliance investigations and risk consulting. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the investigative services category, though focused on corporate/compliance work rather than family missing-persons.
• Thomson Reuters Clear Risk: Large background-check and due diligence data provider serving legal, financial, and institutional clients. Adjacent incumbent offering investigation-supporting data rather than direct missing-persons case work.

Direct peers

• Hetherington Group: U.S. investigative and intelligence firm specializing in missing persons, due diligence, and OSINT. Direct peer with overlapping missing-persons service line and comparable team-credential profile (former law enforcement).
• Worldwide Investigations: Specialized international missing persons and skip tracing firm offering global case coordination. Direct peer on missing persons + international coordination value proposition, with similar scale constraints.
• Smith Investigation Group: U.S. private investigation firm offering missing persons, surveillance, and background investigation. Direct peer operating in the same niche private investigation category for families and individuals.
• Nardoni Consulting & Investigations: U.S. private investigation firm offering general PI services including missing persons, domestic, and corporate cases. Direct peer in scale and service mix but without Lauth's specialized international missing-persons positioning.

Emerging players

• MEB Forensics: Smaller specialty firm with forensic genealogy, heir search, and unclaimed property recovery capabilities. Emerging peer to Lauth's Return Assets and Heir Search divisions, with comparable DNA-driven asset recovery services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/liireturnassets
• Facebookfacebook.com/lauthinvestigationsinternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-missing-persons-investigator
• Instagraminstagram.com/lii_missing_persons

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lauth Investigations International