Our Investigation Firm History

Our Oregon and Washington investigation agency was formed in California in 1987 and was moved to Portland, Oregon in 1993, arming 15 years of licensed private investigation experience.

Today we are Snelling Private Investigators & Background Services, a full-service investigation firm with 40 years of private investigation, based in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Our top private investigators have combined 60 investigation years and we are licensed in Oregon, Washington and California.

Our Top Private Investigators

Donna Snelling is our founder and the director. She has performed and managed private investigations since 1978 — from high profile and complex cases to internal fraud and high liability cases.​ She is one of the first of the licensed female private investigators and surveillance specialists in the U.S.  She is licensed in Oregon, Washington and California.

​Donna is highly skilled in private investigation and case management. She is a career, results-oriented private investigator who knows the most successful strategies and applies them.

​Prior, Donna was a fraud, surveillance and legal investigator, manager and director at leading corporate, workers comp and fraud investigative services in southern and northern California for 15 years. Her partnership secured California's first fraud workers comp "take nothing" reward. She has been a private investigation college instructor and considered an expert witness in federal court.

Donna graduated from Sunset High School in Portland and attended Pacific University in Oregon.

Learn more at Donna Snelling's LinkedIn profile.
Kevin Garrett joined Snelling in 2007 and he is our operations manager and a director. Moreover, he is a skilled field investigator and manager who has involved in hundreds of cases — from sensitive surveillance operations to corporate and family law investigation. He has over 20 years of private, legal, business and background investigation and he is licensed in Oregon and Washington.

​Kevin has extensive experience of obtaining evidence efficiently and achieving positive outcomes for clients. He excels from private and background to corporate investigation and case management. 

Prior, Kevin was the field director at Infotek Research, a major business research firm in Portland, Oregon, where he directed national and international business projects and managed 30 interviewers for 10 years. He also have 10 years' experience as a personnel and business manager in diverse industries —  from the construction business to specialty sports.​
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Kevin holds a B.S. from the W.C. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University.

Professional Licensing
California Private Investigator License PI 12426
Washington Private Investigation Agency License 1720
Donna Snelling: Oregon License 33813; Kevin Garrett: Oregon License 60010