vO’CONNOR continued from page 3
a valuable member of the Investigative Services team.
“He has a great interest in this line of work but I don’t think I want
to push him into it. He wants to be a Marine Biologist or a police
officer. Leaning towards Marine Biologist. He loves science and is
smart as can be. He studies everything.”
As we move past the reception area into Marty’s personal office
he offers me a seat. This room is calm and serene and within it
are items and pictures commemorating his public service. He is a
professional through and through, but he is also a man proud of the
accomplishments he has achieved throughout his career.
Behind him I see a shovel and a hard-hat fastened to the wall. I ask
him what those two items represent.
“The shovel on the wall was given to me as I was one of the
individuals to perform the groundbreaking for the Highway 81 Bridge
joining South Dakota and Nebraska. The white hard hat to the right of
the shovel was given to me by the largest windmill project at the time
in Nebraska as one of the groundbreaking members of that project
along with Governor Heineman of Nebraska.”
I am anxious to hear some of Marty’s experiences, the exciting
cases, the exotic locations, the high-speed car chases with exchanges
of gunfire, and all the other things my Hollywood and fiction story
influenced mind has me believing is the true life of an Investigator.
Yes, there have been a few harrowing experiences in Marty O’Connor’s
career, but once again I am reminded that what I believe to be true is
not.
What I fail to see is that there is a real and dangerous dark side to
humanity that many do not see or have experienced, myself included.
All the movies, television shows and dime-store novels can never
capture that dangerous and often menacing reality. Marty has seen it
and experienced it first-hand on many occasions. However, it is his
devotion to public service and justice that compels him to continue to
seek the truth no matter how dismal the circumstances may be.
Marty tells me of a fellow police officer and partner in his past
whose life was taken by another police officer that both the victim and
Marty trusted. The assailant was sworn to uphold the duties of the
law and to protect, but in reality, he was a man who became desperate
enough to commit murder.
Marty has a memorial for
the fallen officer who was
not only a comrade but also
a dear friend. That memorial
of pictures keeps Officer Dan
in Marty’s thoughts daily and
Marty named his son in honor
of Officer Dan whose presence
is still strongly missed to this
day.
Losing his friend and
comrade made Marty decide
that a change needed to be
made. He did not want to raise a family in a place that he felt was not
a good environment. The Midwest is now where Marty and his family
call home.
Now a licensed Investigator with 31 years of experience, Marty has
been involved in a wide array of investigative cases. He points out that
although he can be obtained for private investigating services, he is also
a Court Appointed Investigator for the District and Federal Courts and
is a member of the National Association of Investigative Specialists.
Marty has also done a stint on television for the Discovery Channel
4vHISVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
and shares with me the photos of that experience.
Marty’s passion for finding truth in cases that have for whatever
reasons gone cold led him to be cast on a Discovery Channel’s “who
dunnit” program entitled Discovery ID in 2014. It is evident that
he is very proud of that accomplishment but tells me that it was a
very intense
experience.
“I enjoyed
that and it was
interesting but to
be honest it was a
lot of pressure. It’s
Hollywood and
they want you to
say things that
may not be true
and they want to
spice it up and make it
sound more appealing
to the viewer and I
wouldn’t do that.”
Through the course
of my conversation with
Marty I can see and
hear the honesty and
integrity he possesses.
He is serious about what
he does and does not
elude from that fact. I
have known others who
have that same conviction and dedication to their crafts as Marty has
for his and I admire all of them. Marty tells me much of his strength
comes from his spirituality and faith in Christianity. He, along with his
family carry a strong belief in the Christian faith and it is that belief
that helps him continue to do what is right and just for mankind.
Outside of the Investigative Service business, Marty shares his love
in God by spending time in a place he and some other folks founded
called Discovery Church. Located downtown across from O’Malley’s
at 205 West 3rd Street, the Discovery Church is a gathering place for
people who share a belief in God and life.
“We have been there over 4 years. We have a great interim pastor,
Pastor Barry, and at Discovery we enjoy music and fellowship.”
The Discovery Church is where the concept of Worship Night
in Yankton was conceived which is a Christian music concert with
a Gospel message that is scheduled to take place in Yankton this
September. It is a complete stage production that is free to the public.
“What it is is a coalition of 4 churches from 2 different states that
collectively came together. A partner and I picked band members
and singers from these four churches to make a band. We did this in
February at the Yankton Summit Center and it was a huge success
with almost 700 people coming. Now on September 19, again at the
Yankton Summit Center at 6:30 pm, we will have another concert and
we are expecting 800 to 900 people to come.”
That is very impressive and Marty tells me that it will not only be
entertaining but visually appealing as well. And it is free to the public.
“We have a company that comes in that does the lights, the fog, the
sound and the whole thing and that will be a very cool night. It is a
non-profit situation and we don’t charge people to get in.”
Sharing his belief in God with those of the Discovery Church and
beyond is not the only way Marty spends his time. He is also involved
vO’CONNOR continued on page 5
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