The Psychic Detective - Gerald Croiset

Croiset was said to be a psychometrist - a person who can read information from a held object. He said he became aware of this gift while a youth working for a watch repairer. On one occasion he held a ruler belonging to his employer and saw events which he related to his employer and which his employer confirmed were accurate.

After World War II, Croiset was sometimes consulted by Dutch police authorities in cases involving missing persons, or murder. On one occasion he was said to have examined the property of a murdered woman, and provided accurate information relating to her murder, and also gave the name of her murderer. The name matched a man who was being held in connection with the crime. He gained a reputation as a reliable consultant in the area of missing persons, and his fame extended beyond the Netherlands, as anecdotes about his abilities came to be discussed in other countries.

He also gained a reputation as a healer, and would allow people to visit him in his clinic for healing sessions. In 1966 he was invited to Australia to aid in an investigation relating to the disappearance of the three Beaumont children, who had disappeared without trace from a beach in Adelaide, South Australia. Although police were sceptical, his expenses were paid by a wealthy businessman interested in the case, and public pressure was such that Croiset's views were considered.

During his short stay in Australia he attracted widespread publicity but failed to find any trace of the missing children. In the mid 1970s he was invited to Puerto Rico to find the two missing children of a local businessman. He concluded that the children were no longer on an "earthly plane" and could offer no clues. Also around the same he was called upon to locate a missing woman in Scotland, and once again failed to provide any clues.

His reputation became tarnished in his later years by his well publicised failures. However he achieved one more notable success when invited to Tokyo, Japan in the 1970s to locate a missing child. Within 24 hours he had provided a description of the location in which her body could be found, and when her body was found after following his instructions, all details seemed to match exactly with his prediction.