Uncovering the Truth Behind My Father-in-Law's Death: My Journey and First Steps in Investigation (Part 4 of 9)

What happened next — and how this first attempt nearly turned tragic-is where the investigation first started.

As you’ll discover in Shadows Over Sumter, something far more unsettling was unfolding beneath the surface. We realized we were being followed — a black sedan shadowing us from stop to stop, never more than a few car lengths behind. It trailed us through Sumter, then out of town, matching every turn. I finally began changing directions — south, then north, then looping back again — just to confirm what my instincts already knew. And every time, the sedan followed.

To break away, we changed tactics on the spot and drove to Columbia, adding nearly an hour to the trip. Only then did the car disappear.

At the Columbia library, we finally found a newspaper article. It was sparse, missing key details, but it was something — the first real breadcrumb. From there, we went to the state records office and purchased a copy of the Official Death Certificate.

That’s when I began building the foundation of the investigation — listing everything I believed we needed to uncover the truth:

• Newspaper article

• Police reports (none were ever found)

• Witness statements

• Requests for information from government agencies

These steps were crucial. Without a clear picture of the facts, I couldn’t move forward.

I began sending FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to the CIA, FBI, Navy, and Air Force. Back in the 1990s, 2019, 2025 and 2026 I assumed that if you worked for the government, you probably had a file somewhere. Every single request came back with the same response: “We can neither confirm nor deny.”

That phrase became the soundtrack of the early and still ongoing investigation.

Next: Researching similar cases