Rudy Farias - Missing 8 Years But Found Alive, QOTD How To Extract Honesty, Qualities Of A Great Process Server

In this episode we cover topics such as:-

1- A Real Life Lost & Found Case;

2- Question Of The Day;

3- Techniques Needed To Getting The Truth;

4- How Do I Become Excellent At Process Serving?;

Got a question for our podcast or do you need to contact Simon and the Down Under Investigations team? Simply email info@downunderinvestigations.com or call 1300849007 or check out www.downunderinvestigations.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to season three and another episode of Down Under Investigations, the Truth You Are About To Hear. From Simon, our host who has well over 20 years experience in the private investigation industry. Simon leads the team at down under investigations who are committed to professionalism, integrity, and their ability to get results for their clients. Our podcast will open up the truth about the world of private investigation, discussing real life case studies, the latest news, cutting edge surveillance, and skip tracing techniques, plus legal issues and support. So stay with us as we join Simon. Now

Speaker 2: 0:36

There's an intriguing story breaking out of Texas in the usa , a missing man named Rudy FARs . He's 25 years old and he was found at a church about 15 kilometers away from where he used to live in Texas. See the family of the Texas man said Monday he'd been missing for over eight years. He was found by a good Samaritan, but unresponsive Tim Miller, who's an investigator for the local search and rescue organization, said that he'd been missing since he was 17 years old

Speaker 3: 1:11

And thank God he , I mean this is one of miracles that you don't experience very often . We started out at uh , at his house where he disappeared from where he was walking his dogs. And I'll never forget to find this backpack out in this empty lot field and stuff .

Speaker 2: 1:28

He was last seen walking his dogs down their street. His family released a statement through a nonprofit organization on Monday to share more information about his condition. What we do know is at the time of re his recovery, a good Samaritan located him, run responsive , and immediately called police and 9 1 1 the family said, my son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us. Frey's family also said in its statement that it would share more details as Rudy continues to heal the Texas Center for the Missing, said he's currently in hospital for treatment and assessment. They said, we are thankful that Rudy has been found and receiving the care he needs. Melissa Rall , a case manager for the center, said via email that the family is asking for privacy. She also said such a rare discovery is an event families of the missing eight, four , even if the story is not finished, when a loved one goes missing, this is the day that all families hope for and dream for reunification. In 2015, a private investigator named Brenda Paradise revealed that he was suffering from depression when he went missing, paradise was hired by the far family. He'd just watched his best friend die in front of him. She said his brother was his best friend in the world. He'd just gone through so much more than anyone his age ever would. When a loved one goes missing, this is the day all families hope for and dream of. She said, Rudy's

Speaker 4: 3:14

Family is excited, excited. I mean they're over the moon. They're excited.

Speaker 2: 3:22

Local police also said they did not suspect foul play. See, when someone goes missing, you've gotta think the family and the friends, there's always hope. They always hold onto hope that a situation like this may happen, where they will turn up and they will be found and they will be found alive. You can imagine the heartbreak for years and years and the anguish and the pain that the family went through, thinking, hoping, praying for this day to arrive where they've been reunited with their son after eight years. And if you are the family and friends of someone who has gone missing, our heart does go out to you. Our thoughts are with you. Our prayers are with you because that would be the hardest, hardest situation to be with. Where there isn't that closure yet. There isn't that finality. Uh, there isn't that answer to the many, many questions that you'd be asking, but in this situation, eight years later, we've had a great outcome, fantastic result . So good to hear this news out of Texas. We're gonna change pace. Now here's our question of the day, your favorite segment, and this one comes from Yvette from Packham . Yvette asks , I think my teenage daughter is lying to me about where she goes after school. How can I find out the truth ? Well, surveillance is a useful tool. Background checks, talking to other parents and that sort of thing. We don't really encourage surveillance when it comes to children, however, unless you're adamant they're putting themselves in danger, that's obviously an option. But what we wanna talk about in response to your question is just the best ways that you can find out the truth, the best ways you can find out what's going on by speaking to your daughter directly. Cuz whether it's family or personal relationships, professional settings, or even casual encounters, the truth is valuable. Is a spouse being a hundred percent honest? Is a child like this situation hiding something from you? Does a business associate seem a little untrustworthy? Is a potential slash future partner telling you the truth? There are so many scenarios where obtaining an honest answer is vital. However, it's not always easy to elicit complete honesty from others. So we wanna talk about five effective ways to encourage individuals to reveal the truth. With these techniques, you can foster open communication and build trust in various situations. Firstly, you need to establish a safe and non-judgmental environment. Creating a safe space is crucial when attempting to extract the truth from someone. You'll see police do it all the time in those police interviews. They'll give them cigarettes and drinks and put 'em in a comfortable chair, make sure the temperatures right, do everything they can to ensure that the person feels comfortable by maintaining non-judgmental attitude. And obviously Yvette, we don't encourage you to give your teenage daughter cigarettes, but um, you know, that's just an example. You need to show empathy and understanding. You need to assure them that their honesty will be met with respect and support. This approach does reduce defensiveness and encourages openness. And one note, don't overreact when they do start revealing things. When we overreact, we make a person feel extremely unsafe and this will cause barriers to go up and the truth to be hidden. Number two, you want to be an active listener and observer. Listen attentively and observe nonverbal clues. We've talked about this in a previous podcast, our last podcast actually give your undivided attention to the person speaking, maintain eye contact and nodding to signal understanding. Observe their body language, noting signs of discomfort, nervousness or inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal clues. This active engagement signals your genuine interest in understanding the perspective. Here's one little note on that. Mimic their posture. If they're leaning in, maybe leaning towards them. If they're looking away, not, you know, making full eye contact, maybe just gaze away as well. If you are mimicking their posture, they're gonna feel like you are understanding what they're saying and they can be a bit more open and honest. Number three, build rapport and trust. You wanna build a strong rapport with an individual because that significantly increases the likelihood of them telling the truth. Develop a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. And I'm sure you've tried this over the years with your daughter Yvette, but I'll encourage you, spend time connecting with her. Find common interests, shared interests and experiences, and involve yourself in things that she's interested in. Engage in active conversation beyond the specific matter at hand to establish a foundation of trust making the more inclined to be honest with you. Number four, ask open-ended questions when seeking the truth. Ask open-ended questions and that's the most powerful tool. Such questions. Encourage detailed responses and prevent simple yes or no answers. Phrase your inquiries in a non-confrontational manner. Allow the person to share their thoughts and feelings freely open-ended questions, prompt introspection, and provide an opportunity for the person to express themselves fully. So don't just ask, did you go here? Did you go there? Ask, how was your day? What have you been up to? Have you been spending time with many friends? You know, open-ended questions. You don't want to be confrontational and asking yes and no questions because they're the easiest times for someone to lie to you. And number five, utilize empathy and emotional appeal. Appeal to a person's emotions and that way you can uncover the truth, employ empathy to understand their perspective and emotions related to the situation. Share your own experiences where relevant. Help them connect on a deeper level. By demonstrating genuine empathy and concern and understanding, you can create an emotional connection that encourages the person to be more forthcoming. And here's just one bonus. Pick the right time to bring up a topic to gather the truth from someone. Confronting someone in the wrong time when they may be tired, distracted, disengaged, stressed about other things is not the best time. You want to find a moment when you've got a connection. When you're feeling like this is the moment where you can bring up a tough conversation, bring up a topic that you know that it's gonna create some waves. You've gotta pick your moment, pick your time while eliciting the truth from someone may not always be a straightforward process. These five techniques can significantly increase your chances of obtaining honest responses. If you're fostering a safe environment, you're practicing active listening, you're building rapport, building trust, and asking open-ended questions and also appealing to emotions, you can establish effective communication channels that promote honesty and transparency. Remember, approaching the truth, seeking process with empathy and respect is crucial to maintaining strong relationships and building a foundation of trust. So we wanna say thank you to Yvette for your question today. We hope this helps you build a situation with your daughter where she can be honest and trustworthy and she can tell you the truth. Keep being a great mom . And that's our question. Question of the day. Yvette, your prize is on its way to you. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 11:57

Do you have a question for Simon and the team at Down Under Investigations, we are running a questions of the day competition. If your question gets answered by Simon on the podcast, we will send you a prize value at a hundred dollars. To send in your question, simply use the contact page on our website at www.downunderinvestigations.comoremailinfodownunderinvestigations.com.

Speaker 2: 12:24

We've certainly talked on previous episodes about the technicalities of process serving and the procedures and how to get documents served. But today we want to talk about the top 10 qualities you need as a process server in Australia. Cuz getting documents served is relatively straightforward, but being a great process server, you requires a unique set of skills, attributes, and this is what we look for in our team. Number one is diligence. A process server must be diligent in their work ensuring that legal documents are delivered accurately and within specified timelines. This can mean early starts, late nights and making sure you're doing a little bit extra to get documents served . Number two, communication skills. Strong communication skills are essential for effectively interacting with clients, legal professionals, and the individuals that we're serving with legal papers. It's definitely vital when speaking with the defendant or their colleague, particularly when they are language barriers or mental deficiencies. Number three, professionalism process. Servers must maintain a high level of professionalism at all times as they're representing the legal system. They must conduct themselves accordingly. Being a representative of not only down under investigations, but the many law firms that we represent means each process server must present in a professional manner on every file. Number four, attention to detail. Paying close attention to details is crucial to ensure that legal documents are served correctly and that you're avoiding any potential legal complications. Our team should be able to read and understand legal documents. There's obviously occasions when our servers and teams notice mistakes on documents or documents are incomplete. And on these occasions we politely and very humbly advise the lawyers so they can make amendments and corrections and the documents can be served with the correct attachments and in the correct order. Number five, organization process. Servers regularly handle multiple cases at once. So organizational skills are vital to keep track of deadlines, addresses relevant cases, and every file that they've got on their list. Having the right equipment and being able to plan ahead is also a great asset to any process server. Number six, patients dealing with individuals who may not be receptive to receiving legal documents definitely requires patience and the ability to handle challenging situations with calmness and professionalism. Sometimes a result is obtained simply by being patient with a defendant. Sometimes you might be on the phone trying to obtain a new address and they'll go round and round in circles. But the more you just are patient and listen and listen to what they're saying and be patient, finally you will get the address from that person. Number seven, adaptability process. Service encounter a variety of situations, locations while serving legal documents. Being adaptable and resourceful is a key to successfully completing a process. Service tasks, number eight, physical fitness. The role of a process server can involve a fair amount of walking, climbing stairs, long hours on the road. Therefore, physical fitness is important to handle the demands of the job. Sometimes you need to get out of a situation quite quickly, so being very quick on foot is an asset and having that physical fitness to back you up. Number nine, knowledge of legal procedures. A process server should have a good understanding of legal procedures and relevant laws. It's essential for a process server to navigate their work effectively and avoid any legal pitfalls or repercussions. And number 10, confidentiality process. Servers often deal with sensitive information, so maintaining strict confidentiality is crucial to ensure privacy and integrity of legal process. If you are a gossiper, if you're a talker, then you will get found out. If you are talking about files and giving names and details on files to people who don't need to know somewhere, somehow that information will come back , back and bite you. And there you have it. That's the top 10 qualities we look for to be a process server in Australia. So whether you're considering a career in process serving, or just curious about the requirements, these are the qualities that play a crucial role in successfully carrying out the responsibilities of a process server. We are certain that any law firm and lawyer expects these qualities in the process server that they trust to serve their legal documents. And we , uh, of utmost gratefulness and thankfulness to the lawyers that trust us with their files. Some have trusted us for nearly 20 years. Some lawyers, they've used us for decades and we're extremely grateful and thankful and we love the relationship that we've built with them over the years.

Speaker 1: 17:28

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