A beach vacation. Three young children. And a boyfriend who wasn't supposed to be anywhere near them.

In Episode 5 of Spy and Tell, veteran private investigator Seth Ward takes you behind the scenes of a child custody investigation that started with a suspicious father and turned into a surveillance assignment full of unexpected obstacles.

A judge had ordered that the mother's new boyfriend stay away from her children. But when she planned a family trip to a beachfront resort, her ex-husband suspected the boyfriend would be joining them.

The plan was simple: Find the family on the beach, document who was there, and head home.

Then the thunderstorms rolled in.

Suddenly, the investigators were dealing with a massive resort, a gated parking garage, locked elevators, hundreds of rooms, and absolutely no idea where the family was staying.

A mysterious parking pass provided the first real clue. What followed was a series of unexpected turns, a little creative detective work, and one knock on a hotel room door that helped change the outcome of a custody case.

This is what private investigation really looks like when the original plan falls apart.

Join Seth Ward, a licensed private investigator with more than 30 years of experience, for another true story from the world of surveillance, cheating spouses, child custody investigations, and the people who hire private eyes to uncover the truth.

SPY AND TELL — Episode 5: The Beach Trip That Turned Into a Custody Case

🎙️ Real cases. Real surveillance. Unbelievable stories.

🌐 www.SpyAndTell.com

A grandmother in Arizona, was convinced her daughter and son-in-law were still involved with drugs—but she needed proof before making a decision about her grandchildren.

What started with a Life360 location dot bouncing between Phoenix parking lots turned into weeks of surveillance, a storage unit, repeated car-to-car exchanges, and a growing list of people with drug histories.

Then, on what was supposed to be one final day of surveillance, everything exploded.

SUVs rushed the parking lot. Agents jumped out with guns drawn. People were put in handcuffs.

The DEA had arrived.

Did Grandma use our surveillance reports to tip them off? Were federal agents already watching the same operation? We never found out.

But one thing became clear: those kids were not going back into the situation everyone feared.

SPY AND TELL — Episode 4: The Parking Lot

Cheaters. Liars. Private Eyes.
Real stories from more than 30 years in private investigation.

A private investigator gets caught during surveillance in Mesa, Arizona—but instead of shutting the investigation down, the case turns into a 40-mile cat-and-mouse pursuit across the Phoenix area.

In Episode 3 of Spy & Tell, licensed private investigator Seth Ward tells the story of a business surveillance investigation involving an alleged non-compete violation, a truck and trailer, and a subject who was already suspicious that someone might be following him. What begins near Apache Junction moves through Mesa and eventually toward Peoria, Arizona, where the investigator loses the subject and nearly calls off the surveillance.

Then one last search changes everything.

Seth explains how private investigators conduct surveillance, what happens when an investigator gets spotted, why experienced investigators sometimes intentionally back off, and how staying calm after surveillance goes sideways can still lead to the evidence a client needs.

After more than 30 years as a licensed private investigator, Seth shares the real-world decisions, mistakes, recoveries and unexpected moments that happen during actual private investigations.

Spy & Tell — real stories from the world of private investigation.