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Paid Services

When you need dedicated professional help.

Our free Search Angels focus specifically on adult adoptees searching for their birth parents. For everything else, from searches involving minors to looking for siblings, grandparents, or other relatives, we recommend a paid professional who can give your case the dedicated time it needs.

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Free or paid?

Which path is right for you?

Our free Search Angels have a focused mission: helping adult adoptees find their birth parents. For every other kind of search, a paid professional is the right path.

Free

Volunteer Search Angels

Free help for adults (18 and over) searching for their own birth mother, birth father, or both. We focus exclusively on this kind of search, which is what makes us good at it.

  • 100% free, always
  • Adults 18+ searching for their birth parents
  • Adoptees, donor-conceived adults, DNA-surprise (NPE) cases
  • Most cases resolved in days to weeks
  • Full report with family tree and findings
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Paid

Professional Investigator

For every situation outside our focus: searches involving minors, looking for siblings or grandparents, searches by birth parents looking for the child they placed, foundling cases, and other complex searches.

  • Searches involving minors
  • Searching for siblings, grandparents, or other relatives
  • Birth parents searching for a child they placed
  • Dedicated full-time attention from a licensed PI
  • Active outreach and contact services
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What to expect

Working with a paid professional

If you decide to hire a professional investigator, here's what the process typically looks like.

Free Consultation

You'll start with a no-cost call where the investigator reviews your situation, your DNA results if any, and what you're hoping to find. They'll let you know honestly whether they can help.

Hourly Engagement

Most professionals charge by the hour and provide an estimated range based on the complexity of your case. You set the budget and stay in control of how much investigation happens.

Detailed Findings

At the conclusion, you receive a full report of findings, documentation, family tree work, and recommended next steps including potential outreach to identified family members.

Our recommended professional

Someone we personally trust

We don't make casual recommendations. Rachele' is someone we've worked alongside and trust with the cases that need professional attention.

Rachele' Davis, New Hope Investigations
New Hope Investigations

Rachele' Davis

Rachele' is a licensed private investigator in Missouri who serves clients in any state for genealogical work. She specializes in searches for adoptees and is an adoptive mother herself, which gives her a depth of understanding that's hard to find. Rates are hourly with a free initial consultation.

NewHopeInvestigations.com (417) 499-7922 rdavis@newhopeinvestigations.com
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Why Rachele'?

There are many professional genealogists and investigators. We recommend Rachele' specifically because:

  • She's done the work. Rachele' has solved cases for our clients when we needed to refer them out. We've seen her work firsthand.
  • She's an adoptive mom. She understands the emotional weight of these searches in a way that someone outside the adoption community simply can't.
  • She's licensed. For cases that require formal investigation or interstate work, her PI license matters.
  • She's transparent. Free consultation, clear hourly rates, no surprises.

If your case is too complex for our volunteer Search Angels, or if you want the dedicated attention of a single professional from start to finish, Rachele' is who we send people to.

Common questions

About hiring a professional

How much does a professional search cost?
Most professional genealogists charge between $50 and $150 per hour, with simple cases requiring 5 to 15 hours and complex cases requiring 30 hours or more. Rachele' offers a free initial consultation where she'll give you an honest estimate of what your specific case might require.
I'm searching for the birth parent of a minor. Can the free service help?
No, our free Search Angels work only with adults searching for their own birth parents. Searches involving minors require professional handling, including careful attention to legal and ethical considerations around contact and privacy. Rachele' is licensed and experienced with these cases.
I want to find a grandparent, sibling, or other relative. Can the free service help?
No, our free Search Angels focus specifically on adult adoptees finding their birth parents. We don't take cases for finding grandparents, siblings, cousins, or other relatives as the primary goal. A paid professional can help with these searches.
I'm a birth parent searching for the child I placed for adoption. Can you help?
This is another situation we recommend handling with a paid professional. Birth parent searches require careful, sensitive outreach and often involve adults who may not know they were adopted. Rachele' has handled these cases and can guide you through the process.
Do you make money from this referral?
No. We don't take referral fees or commissions. We recommend Rachele' because we trust her work and her ethics, not because we profit from sending people her way.
What if I'm not in Missouri?
Rachele' is licensed as a private investigator in Missouri, but for genealogical research work she serves clients across the United States. Her PI licensing matters for cases that involve formal investigation or interstate legal questions; for pure genealogical work, her location doesn't matter.

Searching for your own birth parents as an adult?

Our volunteer Search Angels handle this kind of search at no cost. Fill out a request and we'll get started.

Request Free Help