L/C Missing Ribbons Organization Links Bob Heales created A Helpful Sites page For the Missing On His Site On this Link.. He shares His Moving But Sad Account on He Helped To Bring Dru Sjodin And Ericka Dalquist Lovingly Home to their Family and Friends. Bless You Bob For All You Have Done For them and All the Missing. RUBÉN ROSARIO: High-profile cases lure private investigators Posted on Sat, Apr. 17, 2004 RUBÉN ROSARIO: High-profile cases lure private investigators RUBÉN ROSARIO The trip to Sarasota, Fla., to visit friends in early February was a welcome respite from the emotionally draining searches Robert Heales helped coordinate for Dru Sjodin's family and friends. But the private eye had grown so close to the parents and relatives of the missing college student that there was no doubt he would mix pleasure with reverent duty on that trip. He attended the memorial services in Sarasota that week for Carla Brucia, the 12-year-old Florida girl whose videotaped abduction and subsequent murder had shocked a nation. Carrying out the wishes of Linda Walker and Allan Sjodin, as well as his own, Heales bought flowers and wrote down the name of Dru Sjodin in the guest book at the church, linking in memory and spirit the two victims. "It was just something that I had to do,'' says Heales, who knows the missing girl's boyfriend and also runs two private detective firms in Minneapolis and Denver. Heales, in part, represents a mostly welcome presence in high-profile cases: private investigators. Like Heales, some freely volunteer their time in a highly competitive, dog-eat-dog profession because of family connections or a compelling moral impulse. Others are retained by family members who are dissatisfied with the way police are handling or not handling the case. A few do it strictly for publicity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get their mugs on CNN or national media to help build a client base. Today, Heales and an army of 250 volunteers will trek through marshes, thickets, farm and prairie terrain and river edges again, in a massive land, air and waterway search for the young woman's body. Brian Westphal, president of the Minnesota Association of Private Investigators and Protective Agents, says an increasing number of members in the past year or so have asked for or undergone special training in how to conduct missing-person investigations. "I believe cases like Dru and others from across the country are having an effect,'' he says. "We are seeing more and more interest in this.'' Carol Watson, executive director of Missing Children Minnesota, says a good, ethical private investigator can dig up critical information in cases �Emostly involving college-age adults or kids taken in custody disputes �Ethat police either don't have the resources to adequately probe or are unwilling or unable to devote manpower to because of other crime priorities. But she also cautions that like hiring a good plumber or contractor, families should do a little checking before they decide to bring a private detective into the mix. A good one can break the case. Bad ones, Watson says, could drain a family of finances by floating nonsensical hypotheses or pretending they know things they don't. Ben Ermini, director of the missing children division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C. , agrees. "We know a number of families that have hired private investigators because they are frustrated with the response from law enforcement,'' Ermini said. "Certainly, there are many good and honorable investigators. But one of the problems we've seen is that some charge parents huge sums of money and never really come up with anything. That is not in the best interest of families searching for their child.'' Watson said most families with means hire private detectives because of legitimate or perceived conflicts with police. That was the case with the parents of Christopher Jenkins, a University of Minnesota student who disappeared Nov. 1, 2002, following a night of drinking and carousing at a downtown Minneapolis bar. Jenkins' body, clad in the American Indian costume he wore Halloween night, was found four months later in the Mississippi River near St. Anthony Falls. The family still maintains that Jenkins was a victim of foul play. Although Minneapolis police have not closed the case, the prevailing police theory is that Jenkins committed suicide or accidentally drowned after leaving the bar. Steve Jenkins said he hired local private eye Chuck Loesch when Minneapolis police informed him they would need to wait 72 hours to take and act on a missing-person report on their son. "They didn't begin to do anything until five days after my son's disappearance,'' says Jenkins. "We decided they weren't interested and decided to take matters into our own hands.'' Loesch pushed forward the theory that Jenkins, as well as other college student disappearances in the Midwest in recent months, was the work of a suspected serial killer currently serving time in Missouri on an attempted murder charge. "Our relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department at this point is zero,'' says Jenkins, who has requested a sit-down with newly appointed Police Chief William McManus. Minneapolis police inspector Rob Allen, who supervises the downtown police precinct that initially handled the Jenkins disappearance, would not comment specifically on the Jenkins case. He said most private investigators, particularly those who work on employee theft and credit card fraud cases for corporations, do an excellent job in assisting police and county prosecutors. "I think a general problem in some cases is when they pursue alternative theories to keep themselves employed,'' said Allen. "That's unfortunate because police sometimes have to spend some time to rule out some of these theories.'' By most accounts, from private investigators and police counterparts alike, Heales has done the honorable thing. He first contacted Grand Forks and Minnesota police involved in the Dru Sjodin case about his involvement with the family. He has worked with them and a Grand Forks private eye to assist in search efforts. "Frankly, I think he has done an excellent job representing our profession,'' Westphal said. FYI Private investigators must be licensed to work in Minnesota. To learn more, contact the Minnesota Department of Public Safety at www. dps. mn.us or the Minnesota Association of Private Investigators and Protective Agents at www.mapi.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rubén Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651- 228-5454. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2004 Pioneer Press and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.twincities.com Calamity Jane has died By Bob Heales Calamity Jane has died. Just 5 days after being honored at Erika Dalquist's funeral by sitting in the front row near the Governor of Minnesota, Calamity Jane passed away. Her handler and best friend Denny Adams spent an hour or so Wednesday with her head in his lap thinking she was getting better, only to receive a call 10 minutes after he left that she had passed.  Although Calamity Jane was well known in law enforcement circles and had worked in Africa, with the FBI on the Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph search and many other well known cases, she is probably best known to many people for her efforts over the past 4 months in the searches for Dru Sjodin and Erika Dalquist. Calamity worked tirelessly from 2 months after Dru went missing until she was located on April 17th. Her interest in an area near where Dru was found helped keep us nearby. She worked in bitter cold and was outfitted at one time with a coat and boots. These were certainly not the best conditions for a bloodhound to work in.  Many people know she also helped in the search for Erika just a couple weeks later. Calamity showed strong interest in an area and disappeared in the woods overnight. A man searching for Calamity came across Erika in that very area and Calamity turned up lying next to Erika at 4:30 in the morning.  Calamity Looked a bit tired at Erika's funeral and Denny and wife Kathy had made plans to take her to the veterinarian Saturday morning. Little did those of us who visited with Calamity at the wake on Thursday evening or the funeral on Friday realize this would be her last public appearance.  Denny and Calamity were always available on short notice. They asked for little more than enough to cover a room, food and gas. The day after laying Calamity Jane to rest, Denny and another dog Molly came to meet me in St. Paul to start another case, but that case resolved itself before we really did anything but make some telephone calls.  If you have a passion for puppies or just want to help those who help others you canmake a donation in Calamity Jane's memory so that Denny and his dogs can always be available.  Donations in any amount may be sent to: Denny and Kathy Adams Dakota Territory Search Dogs 385 Grant Ave Conde, SD 57434 605-382-5830 associatedpress.com Sjodin Searchers Help Distraught Families -------------------- By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press Writer May 18, 2004, 4:42 AM EDT MINNEAPOLIS -- Just a few nights after searchers found the body of his missing daughter, Allan Sjodin's thoughts were on another family from Minnesota, and another missing daughter. Sjodin and private investigator Bob Heales were discussing ways to help distraught families, particularly that of Erika Dalquist, who had vanished after leaving a Brainerd bar on Oct. 30, 2002. "He's a pretty strong man, a man with a big heart," Heales said Monday of Sjodin. "And he felt the Dalquists' pain. He knew exactly what they were going through." Heales had helped the Sjodin family organize searches for their daughter Dru, a University of North Dakota student who disappeared from the Grand Forks, N.D., shopping mall Nov. 22. After Dru's body turned up in a ditch on April 17, Sjodin and Heales turned their attention to Erika Dalquist. "We wanted to help them out the best we could," Sjodin said. It worked. A man looking for a bloodhound that had run away while out in the woods came across Erika's remains. The longtime suspect in Erika's disappearance, William Gene Myears, was charged Monday with second-degree murder. Myears was still at large Tuesday. Prosecutors dropped charges against him in January 2003 because of a lack of evidence and authorities don't know where he is now, Police Chief John Bolduc said. Heales said he and Sjodin agreed during the search for Dru that missing young adults didn't seem to get the same attention as younger children, and they hoped to change that. Brainerd police passed their offer of help to Erika's grateful parents, Duane and Colleen Dalquist. Dalquist's mother had attended Dru's wake, and the couple credited the successful search for Dru with reviving public interest in Erika. Heales and Sjodin organized a search that drew about 200 volunteers May 8. They enlisted about 100 to go out again Saturday. Joining them both times was Denny Adams, a bloodhound handler from Conde, S.D., whose dogs also searched for Dru. Other Sjodin relatives participated, and Dru's boyfriend, Chris Lang, of Minneapolis, went out May 8. Lang, a longtime family friend of Heales', said looking for Erika after similar searches for Dru was "surreal." "It was the exact same thing, just a different place," Lang said. "I just kept thinking about that we had Dru home, and they didn't yet." The break came when one of Adams' bloodhounds caught a scent and ran off. A man looking for the dog on horseback found Erika's remains just off a trail on property of the suspect's grandparents about seven miles east of Brainerd. Heales and Sjodin said they've learned an important lesson: never give up. "With any of these cases it takes some luck, especially after this much time," Heales said. "But if you don't get out there and try, you can't make that luck." Copyright (c) 2004, The Associated Press HEADLINE: Bloodhound that searched for Sjodin, Dalquist dies > > This article from the Star Tribune has been sent to you by Bob. > > BYLINE: > CREDITLINE: The Associated Press > HEADLINE: Bloodhound that searched for Sjodin, Dalquist dies > > ST. PAUL - A bloodhound that made a name for itself in high-profile searches for two missing women has died. Search-dog owner Denny Adams, of Conde, S.D., said his bloodhound named Calamity Jane died Wednesday. The dog was involved in the long winter search for slain University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, whose remains were found this spring. Calamity Jane also assisted in finding the remains of Erika Dalquist, a Brainerd woman who was missing for more than a year.The hound became ill after she accompanied Adams to a memorial service for Dalquist last week, he said. "Once she got home, she quit eating and she just wore out," Adams said Thursday in St. Paul. Dalquist's remains were discovered last month by searchers looking for Calamity Jane, who had bolted from Adams' hold and was later found lying near the remains. Adams said the extensive searches took a toll on the dog, who worked with volunteers looking for Sjodin throughout the harsh North ! Dakota winter. "It was a long, cold winter up in Grand Forks," he said. Calamity Jane sat in the front row at Dalquist's funeral, next to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Adams said."I said `You should be honored, sir,' and he bent down and he petted her, and he congratulated us," Adams said. SJODIN'S KIN TO HELP SEARCH FOR LOST GIRL Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks Herald (ND) July 4, 2004 SJODIN'S KIN TO HELP SEARCH FOR LOST GIRL LEANNA WARNER MISSING FOR ABOUT A YEAR Associated Press Dateline: CHISHOLM, MINN. The renewed ground search for Leanna "Beaner" Warner next weekend is expected to include members of another family who lost a daughter. Relatives of former UND student Dru Sjodin, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., are expected to travel to Chisholm to join hundreds of volunteers and the investigator who helped them. Sjodin's body was found in April near Crookston. She had been abducted from a Grand Forks mall five months earlier. "I'm still very close to the family," said private investigator Bob Heales, of Cross Lake, Minn., and Denver. In May, he and members of the Sjodin family helped lead the search that found the remains of Erika Dalquist, a Brainerd woman last seen a year and a half earlier. Heales has been hired by the Warners for a yet-to-be-determined amount to search for their 5-year-old brown-eyed, brown-haired daughter. Leanna Warner disappeared from her Chisholm neighborhood June 14, 2003. She was wearing ! a dark blue sleeveless denim dress and was barefoot. "Members of the Sjodin family and I keep in close contact," Heales said Friday. "They feel very strongly about helping others in similar situations. They want to help." Hundreds of volunteers will be needed to comb a minimum 12-mile radius around Chisholm. Searches have focused on an area within about a four-mile radius. The searches next weekend are expected to include a dog trained to find cadavers and a retired Los Angeles homicide detective. If they fail to find Warner or evidence of her whereabouts, additional searches will be done July 24 and 25, Heales said. The searches will be on foot. Volunteers should not bring all-terrain vehicles. They should bring sunscreen and insect repellent and wear rugged shoes and clothing. Volunteers should report at 9 a.m. next Saturday and Sunday to the Vaughan-Steffensrud School in Chisholm, Heales said. Copyright (c) 2004 Grand Forks Herald Record Number: 0407060045 Private investigators lobby for nationwide sex offender registry Friday, September 10, 2004 1:50 PM Star Tribune Article > > This article from the Star Tribune has been sent to you by Heales. > > BYLINE: > CREDITLINE: The Associated Press > HEADLINE: Private investigators lobby for nationwide sex offender registry > > BISMARCK, N.D. - About 40 private investigators lobbied federal lawmakers on Thursday to establish a national sex offender registry. The National Council of Investigative and Security Services was led by Bob Heales, a Denver-based private investigator who spearheaded searches that led to the body of slain University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. "This continues to be very personal for me," Heales said. The bill was introduced in March by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. It would create a national Internet site "so everyone will know how close they're living to a convicted sex offender," Dorgan said. The private investigators made a convincing case to lawmakers in Washington, D.C., Dorgan said. "They went office to office to talk about the need for this," Dorgan said. "That's the kind of thing that gives a bill like this a boost." Heales said the group also thanked Dorgan for introducing the bill. "We call it Dru's law," Heales said. Dorgan's proposal a! > lso would require that local prosecutors be notified when high-risk sex offenders are set to be released from prison. Dorgan said that would give them time to prepare for civil commitment proceedings. Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., disappeared from the parking lot of a Grand Forks mall last November. Her body was found in April northwest of Crookston, Minn. A convicted sex offender, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., of Crookston, is charged in federal court with kidnapping resulting in Sjodin's death. He has pleaded not guilty. Dorgan said the bill has strong bipartisan support. "We're going to get this done and hopefully save some lives in the future," Dorgan said. Erika Dalquist click link above to read her article: