Brad Schlerf is a 10-year U.S. Army Combat Veteran, retired police detective, and author of the true crime memoir Gotcha Cold Case. He has spent the better part of four decades in public service — first in uniform, then on the badge, and now as a forensic consultant working active cold cases across the country.
Public service since fourteen.
Brad's career began before most kids finish middle school. The son of volunteer EMTs and firefighters, he became a volunteer firefighter at 14, a certified EMT at 15, and a rescue diver by 16. The pattern set early — show up, do the work, don't talk about it.
Ten years in the Army.
Brad served ten years in the U.S. Army as a Combat Veteran, including service during Operation Desert Storm. The discipline, investigative rigor, and field-operations experience he built in uniform became the foundation of everything that followed.
The work most people never see — the work that haunted me — was the case file I couldn't close. — Brad Schlerf
Two decades as a Kansas detective.
After the Army, Brad joined the police force in Junction City, Kansas, then later the Manhattan, Kansas Police Department. Across more than twenty years he worked patrol, investigations, narcotics, and major crimes — eventually focusing on the linked investigations that became the subject of his first book.
Forensic Solutions Inc.
After retirement from sworn law enforcement, Brad founded Forensic Solutions Inc. — a private investigative firm with divisions in computer forensics, voice stress analysis, and data recovery. FSI continues to consult on active cold case investigations across the country.
National media.
Brad's investigations have been featured on 48 Hours, A&E's Dead Again, Discovery Channel's Killing Fields, NBC, and True Crime TV, and have been referenced in true crime journals and podcasts. See the full press archive →
Author & publisher.
Gotcha Cold Case — Brad's first book — became an Amazon #1 Bestseller in the United States and internationally. It has been translated into Spanish (Te Tengo) and German (Erwischt), and is available in paperback, Kindle, and a 7-hour audiobook. Brad publishes under the Gotcha Books imprint.