Virtual Gumshoe is a free public record directory popular among private investigators and law enforcement. Virtual Gumshoe made its debut in 1996 under the name Webgator.com and carried the name until 2002 when a lapse of domain renewal resulted in a third party purchasing the name. Forced to relocate on the Internet, the content was migrated to its current location at Virtual Gumshoe.
The key feature of Virtual Gumshoe is the database of free public record sources that can be sorted by keywords or location. As the site grew to several thousand links to public record sources, updating and maintaining the accuracy of the URLs became an overwhelming task. The previous owner of Virtual Gumshoe realized the maintenance requirements had become too great to manage alone and offered to sell the site in hopes it would be maintained and improved.
Brad Jones, a patron of the site for many years and a licensed investigator in Chicago, purchased Virtual Gumshoe in early 2004. Since that time, Virtual Gumshoe has continued to grow in popularity and underwent a complete makeover. Virtual Gumshoe now contains over 6000 searchable links to free public information databases, a message board, store and publishes a newsletter for investigators and researchers.
Background Screening Consultants LLC is the background screening company founded by Bradley Jones and whose staff maintains the Virtual Gumshoe site. Background Screening Consultants specializes in conducting pre employment screening, tenant screening and volunteer screening for corporations.