Introductions are usually awkward for Traici Sexton.

It’s not that she’s a social misfit. She just knows that invariably, people will ask what line of work she’s in.

Her chosen profession makes for good dinner conversation and she is often thrust into the fish bowl and becomes the center of attention.

A female private investigator/bounty hunter isn’t anything new, she concedes, but they are few and far between, thus peaking the interest of others.

Ms. Sexton recently moved her agency, Blue Dog Investigations and Services to Bartow County and while she’s nothing like the stereotypical gumshoe, she is comfortable with tracking down the wanted and missing.

Since starting her career as an Intel analyst for an Atlanta-based private investigator in 2003, Ms. Sexton has tracked down bail jumpers, lost loves, dead-beat dads cheating spouses, kidnappers and fugitives.

From high-profile cases—one of which has been featured on the syndicated Montel Williams Show—to more obscure cases which require good old-fashioned leg work, Ms. Sexton said she has found her calling as a PI.

“Somehow I just knew I could do this,” Ms. Sexton said. “I think it’s all in the approach. I work hard at what I do. I know that this is a God-given gift.”

A former social worker, Ms. Sexton has a unique approach to her work, and it’s dramatically different from the glitz and glamour portrayed by Hollywood.

“I don’t have a lot of disguises and I’m not over the top, I just take a professional approach,” Ms. Sexton said. “I just try to blend in.”

While a few cases involve murder, assault and theft, Ms. Sexton said the majority of the people she tracks are wanted for misdemeanor offenses or as witnesses in criminal and civil cases.

But whatever the reason, Ms. Sexton said there’s always a way to track them down. And the key to finding them is to put things into perspective.

“The thing about bounty hunting and private investigating is it’s not about what a person is charged with,” Ms. Sexton said. “All you care about is that they didn’t show up for court.

While good instincts play a role in tracking down the wanted, Ms. Sexton said following the clues often leads to results.

“I once found a guy by locating the registration of his dog with the American Kennel Club,” Ms. Sexton said.