Whitney Houston was a fierce talent — singer, actress, a great beauty. And it turns out the “I Will Always Love You” singer had a soft spot for missing children, and tipped off her security to find a kidnapped Atlanta child in 2008.
Houston’s real bodyguard, veteran Los Angeles private investigator Jake Schmidt, went to Atlanta to rescue six-year-old Colton O’Neal, who was kidnapped from his Atlanta home by his biological father and taken to Mexico.
O’Neal was missing for a year and a half.
When Schmidt got wind of the case, he was working on Houston’s security team. Houston, who lived in Atlanta with then-husband Bobby Brown, reportedly got wind of the story and urged Schmidt to take on the case at no cost.
“I won’t confirm or deny that Nippy asked me to do this,” Schmidt told The Daily Caller, referring to Houston’s nickname. He was interviewed by an NBC News affiliate at the Atlanta airport when he brought the child home.
“Whether … Nippy or someone else tips me off to something and I happen to be there, then I might look into it. And yes, around that time I was working for Whitney,” Schmidt said. “She is from Atlanta, the kid was from Atlanta. You do the math.” (RELATED: Full coverage of the entertainment world)
Schmidt said he has rescued other kidnapped children on several occasions.
“For law enforcement in general, that is far at the bottom of their list,” he told TheDC. “There are about 65,000 kidnapped children per year, and I can find them in 30 days or I will retire. I’ve done it before and will continue to.”
The detective did not offer additional details about his relationship with the late superstar, out of respect for her family members.
Schmidt was working for Houston up until her death on Feb. 11, and remains in close contact with her family. He can be seen in footage from her Newark, N.J. funeral.
And despite the singer’s late-in-life struggles with drugs and a tumultuous marriage, Schmidt said she was a wonderful person — a view that’s justified by the idea of her quietly helping a child find his way home.
“You know, there are many beautiful things about Whitney,” he said, “but people are going to focus on the negative.” Schmidt said.
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