< cate the public about the role of a private investigator," says Gibb. He's also sharing his experiences with students at Clarke College's Law and Security program as an instructor. Gibb, who was in partnership with former wife Lisa for much of his career, says he sometimes has to do a little detective work on clients themselves before proceeding with a case. "Not everyone has worthwhile motives for finding someone. If I suspect that the missing person may have escaped an abusive spouse, for example, I don't take the case. Part of this job is to psychologically assess a client, to make sure they don't want to cause somebody harm." Gibb charges clients $45 an hour, plus expenses, to conduct a search. And although some pursuits are abandoned (due to time and lack of funds), Gibb says there are cases "I know I could have solved, if the client had told me to continue." Gibb knows the importance of tiny details when conducting searches. Careful attention to detail -- such as checking a missing person's telephone book for frequently-called numbers -- helps him track down subjects. "A phone book can give valuable clues to where someone might have gone. If a person has left it behind, I check for dog-eared pages, to get an idea of which numbers they might call frequently. Chances are the names or businesses they underline are places that were part of their routine." Everything from a birthdate and social insurance number to memberships in clubs and associations can provide clues to a missing person's whereabouts. "People usually leave behind some evidence that can lead an investigator to them. It's pretty difficult, in a computer-oriented society like ours, to just disappear off the face of the earth." Gibb says he prefers leading the life of an independent private investigator. "There are plenty of advantages over working for someone else in an agency. I'm able to concentrate on my area of expertise, I can choose my clients, and create my own work environment." And that $50,000? It - an unclaimed bank account - was never given away and was kept by the client.