Earlier today I saw a post on Facebook that was interesting to me; because it raises a lot of questions and seems to prove what I personally have always known. Below is the post that I saw on Facebook; I took a screenshot of it:

Ron Rugen On His Role In The Lisa Irwin Case

Now it has never been a secret that I am very critical of Mr. Rugen. Personally speaking, I have never believed him to be an intelligent or even a competent Private Investigator. My opinion is based off of many years of being able to observe what he has done in my chosen profession, the Private Investigation business, watching his posts on private forums for Private Investigators, and observing some of his less than intelligent opinions on these forums. The only types of cases that I have ever seen or know of that Mr. Rugen has ever been able to claim any success at is serving subpoenas and judgment collections; which really do not require much skill.

It appears that Mr. Rugen is “giving up” on the Lisa Irwin case? Mr. Rugen also claims that he has been working this case as a “Investigative Reporter”, but more accurately as just an “attention seeking blogger”. The question that comes to my mind about Mr. Rugen claiming that he is not working this case as a Private Investigator is; why not? But the answer seems to be simple and even admitted by Mr. Rugen himself and that is that nobody will hire him. Generally speaking, if you read the Facebook pages regarding Mr. Rugen you will see that he is not held in high esteem, nor is he thought of as competent. It seems logical that the people with an interest in this case that would have a motivation to hire a Private Investigator in this case we are discussing here also read Facebook, and have probably made some calls to see what kind of a Private Investigator Mr. Rugen is. Going off of what Mr. Rugen has been saying, that nobody has hired him; one can only believe that Mr. Rugen’s “reviews” must have been less than stellar.

Mr. Rugen states that he has “put aside paid work that could be done” to work this case. Does anyone REALLY believe that? Does anyone REALLY believe that a struggling Private Investigator, who can not keep a girlfriend or a wife that would add to the household income, that could not pay his rent when he lived in Columbia, MO. and still owes his automobile mechanic $300.00 to this day, would turn down money to work this case? I think that the more likely scenario is that Mr. Rugen did not have any paid work to begin with. But lets say for a minute that he did have paid work coming in and chose not to do it to work this case; would anyone call that “smart business”? I mean, I do understand how Mr. Rugen’s dreams of fame motivated by having a few short clips of him on various News Stations might make one think that this could “drum up business” for him. But the fact remains, no matter how much publicity you get, nobody willfully pays for incompetence!

Now another issue that we can see from reading Mr. Rugen’s posts is that Mr. Rugen claims that since he has not been working as a Private Investigator on this case and he has been working in the capacity of an “Investigative Reporter” he is not bound by any confidentiality or general confidentiality implications. While this may be generally accepted, it is not an ethical stance by someone that is a state licensed Private Investigator. But there is an question that the general public may not be aware of, but another Private Investigator would be aware of; and that question is: Did Mr. Rugen use any databases that he has access to for Private Investigators ONLY to work this case which by Mr. Rugen’s own admission was not a Private Investigation? If Mr. Rugen used any of the databases for Private Investigators only, to work a non-Private Investigation case; then he may be in violation of his agreements with any of the database providers that he is signed up with. This is an interesting question, indeed.

Overall, Mr. Rugen is showing us all what I already knew. He has not made one single inch of headway in solving this case. He has not generated any useful leads or data the entire time he has been on this case. And he has somehow managed to upset the very people that he was supposed to be gaining rapport with on this case. Yes, it is long overdue for Mr. Rugen to take his attorney friend’s advice (Anthony) and just throw in the towel. While it might be a bitter pill for Mr. Rugen to swallow, my thoughts are that he should just admit to himself that he is in fact an incompetent Private Investigator and go back to the “easy money” that does not take a high level of intelligence to make; serving subpoenas and collecting judgments. Doing this may actually serve Mr. Rugen well. The fact is, that Mr. Rugen has done nothing but “spin his wheels” and at the very best got himself a little publicity on this case; meanwhile REAL Private Investigation Agencies (like RMRI, Inc.) are doing what they are supposed to be doing and working REAL private Investigation cases from PAYING CLIENTS, so they can pay their bills and support their families.

Well, maybe we can all breathe a little easier now? Perhaps Mr. Rugen has at least admitted that he is way out of his depth on a case that takes a REAL Private Investigator to even have any hope of solving?We’ll see……….

I came across these comments yesterday, and I just had to laugh:

Now what is funny is that this “Private Investigator” is from Columbia, MO. He was here in Columbia, MO. when Kent Heitholt was murdered. He NEVER once gave an opinion on this murder until now, when it looks like Ryan Ferguson might be fairing better in the courts because the courts seem to be paying attention to the evidence (or in this case LACK OF EVIDENCE) in his case..

That’s a pretty safe stance, isn’t it? I mean, many others and myself have been giving our opinions on this case for years, we did not wait for our opinions to become popular. We put it right out there to the public and stood on and defended our view on this case

Read the comments, and read where this “Private Investigator” asks one of the readers if he knows the evidence…. This “Private Investigator” does not even know the evidence in this case. LMAO!

Now as far as I am concerned, I don’t believe that Ryan Ferguson or Chuck Erickson is guilty of this crime. Where I separate from some people, is that after a lot of analysis, and a little maturing; I have decided that I am not going to try to make a  then Prosecutor who is now a Judge look like he did anything malicious; I believe he did his job. I have had occasion to watch him as a Judge and I have to say, I do not think he is a malicious person, and I do think that he really observes and listens to a case and makes as fair and practical a ruling as possible. I am sorry if you disagree; but I am only reciting my personal experiences.

I am not going try to make a then Assistant Prosecutor who is now a Prosecutor look malicious, because I know he really isn’t. Our Prosecutor in Boone County is tough, hard working, brilliant about the law, and has a very low tolerance for crime or people that try to cover it up; but I don’t think he is malicious. I actually believe our current Prosecutor’s methods and his Assistant Prosecutor’s methods in court may very well have assisted in keeping crime rates as low as they are in Boone County; simply put everyone in Boone County knows that you don’t ”play games” with the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office.

I am not going to try to make the original Judge on this case look like she was a part of some conspiracy, because I honestly believe she was simply doing her job as it is prescribed by law.

This is where I differ from some of the Ryan Ferguson Supporters. I don’t blame or harbor any ill will towards the Prosecution for Ryan Ferguson’s predicament, because I have come to understand that they have a job to do, and it has got to be a tough job to do from the standpoint of a human being, so I think they deserve a little respect.

I blame the original defense attorney that was hired to defend Ryan Ferguson for his conviction, who I believe was inept. I blame sloppy police work and laziness by the CPD for Ryan Ferguson’s conviction.

What happened in regards to Ryan Ferguson is a shame, but I think we need to assign that same to the correct people, and the original Prosecutor, Assistant Prosecutor, and Judge are not the right people to assign that shame to.

What is a bit irritating is to see some “Private Investigator” come here after all this time, like he knows something nobody else does when in reality he is just using this case like he does any other case he is incapable of working, as a promotion point.

If this guy tries to get you to him Bill, be careful. You don’t want to hire a “Private Investigator” that can’t even keep his naked pictures off of the Internet; a “Private Investigator” known as “The Penis That Embarrassed The Entire Private Investigation Profession”………..

Rick Gurley

You know, I have been watching this ordeal concerning Baby Lisa Irwin for a while now. And I have to tell you that for the most part, people seem to have moved on. Yes, people like myself are waiting and watching, but not pointing fingers. I guess one of the reasons that I am not pointing any fingers is because I have not seen any convincing evidence in any direction that would incline me to point a finger at anyone. I have seen rumors, innuendos, outright foolish remarks, and foolish speculation; but nothing that convinces me that there is anyone to accuse of any criminal activity. Understand, I am not saying there is no criminal activity here; what I am saying is that at this time I see no evidence that would make me want to accuse anyone of it.

Yet there seems to be a group of people convinced that the mother and father are involved in Baby Lisa Irwin’s disappearance. And I can understand the everyday citizen feeling emotional about this case and making accusatory statements. I can understand  that this is a child that has just simply vanished and how that is emotional to any parent. But what I can’t understand is the Investigator that would participate in pointing fingers with no evidence! I can not understand how one can call their self an Investigator, that is supposed to work from facts and evidence, and spread rumors and innuendo that are not supported by facts and evidence?

Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam

The above Latin phrase simply means:  Appeal To Ignorance. Let me define this for you, as I feel that it is something that everyone should consider before pointing the finger at someone with no facts and/or evidence for doing so. The premise behind the Appeal To Ignorance is that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false (or vice versa). This is a fallacy of logic. In the scope of this article, it would be to say that Lisa Irwin’s parents are guilty of wrong doing in the disappearance of Lisa Irwin because they have not been proven innocent of any wrong doing in Lisa Irwin’s disappearance. THIS IS A FALLACY!

As an Investigator I work from facts, evidence, proof, and details. I try real hard not to make assumptions. Sometimes this means that I have to sit back quietly and simply say “I don’t know”, instead of speculating and pointing fingers. I know that when I investigate a case, I have to allow the evidence to guide me, and facts are the parameters that I have to work within, from doing so I have to be sure to observe the details that come about from the facts and evidence; and ultimately by doing this I can show proof that allows me to conclude my investigation. Sometimes this may take a long time. Sometimes there simply is not enough evidence and the facts do not allow me to make an accusation, say that there was any wrong doing, or find any fault with anyone in my investigation. When it happens that there is not enough evidence and facts to prove up my case it is certainly frustrating; but the process is correct!

A new email address by the father of Baby Lisa Irwin is not evidence of wrong doing. Monetary gain by the parents of Baby Lisa Irwin for telling their story is not necessarily evidence of any wrongdoing. It may seem “just not right” to some of us, but “just not right” is a far cry from evidence and facts that support any wrongdoing on behalf of the parents of Baby Lisa Irwin.

Now I have watched a Private Investigator named Ronald Rugen seize ahold of this case, and try to gain notoriety from it. I have heard a rumor that Mr. Rugen tried to get the parents of Baby Lisa Irwin to hire him to work this case, and they’d have nothing to do with hiring him. I have seen his ramblings on TV about this case, and I was shocked that any TV Station would even consider having him on their show. I can’t see where Mr. Rugen has offered anything that has been contributive to solving this case.  All I have heard is rambling, accusations, a lot of finger-pointing; but no recital of evidence and/or facts to support his position.

Well, maybe it is time that the public knew a little about Mr. Rugen. Did any of you know that he sent his naked pictures to females on the Internet unsolicited? Did anyone of you know that one female Private Investigator lodged a complaint with the City of Columbia back when licensing was under the municipality for sending her his naked pictures unsolicited? What kind of a man does something like that? Is this the person you want to listen to and follow in regards to a case like this?

Below is a copy of the pictures that Mr. Rugen sent out to literally hundreds of females unsolicited. I took the liberty of blurring the more graphic parts of the image, just to try to show some decency to the viewers here. It was hard to see anything, anyway; so you really are not missing anything….

Ron’s Naked Photos – Blurred

As you can see, this is Mr. Rugen holding a camera in the mirror and taking pictures of himself. Now, I guess it is fair to say “to each his own”, but isn’t that just a little weird? And it’s not so much that he is taking these pictures of himself, but he was sending them out on the Internet to unsuspecting females. Now, this may not be a huge crime, it may not even be a crime at all; but I do believe it shows VERY poor judgment! I don’t believe that this would be the Private Investigator that I’d want advising me on ANYTHING!  Understand something: THIS IS THE MAN THAT IS ACCUSING BABY LISA IRWIN’S PARENTS OF CRIMINAL WRONGDOING IN HER DISAPPEARANCE!

Now, if you doubt me, if you do not believe that what I have posted here about how Mr. Rugen disseminated these pictures, then ask Mr. Rugen yourself. Or ask me to give you the name of the lady that lodged the complaint against him with the city of Columbia, MO. Or, ask yourself this; if he was not disseminating these pictures to the public, how did I get my hands on them?

Here is the point. Don’t blindly follow someone because they call their self a Private Investigator. Consider the motive for what this person is saying. Mr. Rugen has never really been acknowledged as anything other than a mediocre Private Investigator at best. A professional license does not make one a good Private Investigator, it just makes one a Private Investigator. Every profession has it’s duds, and up until Mr. Rugen went begging for attention on the Baby Lisa Irwin case, he was little more than a Process Server.

In summary here; be careful who you listen to and who you follow. Don’t jump on a bandwagon that you may later regret being on. In cases like we are discussing here, be patient and wait before you make statements along with ignorant people who have no evidence or facts to make accusations from. Be what Mr. Rugen can apparently not be, logical, objective, unbiased, and fair.

Rick Gurley