# How would you get Eric Dale? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991 "2026-10-20T03:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/1 "2026-10-20T03:18:46Z")
In the 2011 film Margin Call, the CEO of the firm asks his “guy” to bring Eric Dale back to the firm by 6:30am. Dale’s phone is off and no one at the firm knows where he is. How would his, presumably security, guy find him? Similarly, how would Woody Harrelson’s character have found Josh Brolin’s character in No Country for Old Men? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/2 "2026-10-20T04:43:54Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > In the 2011 film Margin Call, the CEO of the firm asks his “guy” to bring Eric Dale back to the firm by 6:30am. Dale’s phone is off and no one at the firm knows where he is. How would his, presumably security, guy find him? It’s a film depicting a fictional story (though set during the 2008 financial crisis). Unless the method for finding Dale was interesting and integral to the plot, it probably wasn’t detailed. Possibly, it’s a plot hole that the writer or director didn’t think to, or didn’t care to, patch. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/3 "2026-10-20T04:45:18Z")
No Country is pretty easy to explain. He knows the was a shootout. If Llewellyn is injured, where might he go? Closest place that won’t call the US police is right across the border. IIRC, in margin call, doesn’t paul bettamy find him at his house like 8 hours later? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/4 "2026-10-20T08:09:19Z")
**Moderating** Moved from FQ to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/5 "2026-10-20T09:30:14Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > How would his, presumably security, guy find him? He has a very particular set of skills. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/6 "2026-10-20T15:14:52Z")
To be clear, the question isn’t “how was this done in the film?”, but rather “how would one do this in real life”, if possible? The problem is find someone who isn’t where he normally is and whose phone is off in the middle of the night and get it done in about 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/7 "2026-10-20T22:41:08Z")
In general, finders of missing persons talk to people who know the guy. Odds are that someone knows where he’s likely to be, or who the next person to ask is. Most people are people of habit. And it seems like in the movie, Dale isn’t trying to hide - so he’s probably going to be in one of his usual places, or a place nearby. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/8 "2026-10-21T03:47:28Z")
Sure, but the premise is no one knows where he is and anyone who knows him is probably in bed. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/9 "2026-10-21T03:51:59Z")
With a question like this, I always suspect the OP has thought of a clever answer, and it setting up a place to reveal his brilliance. So why don’t you just tell us what you think should be tried? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/10 "2026-10-21T03:57:19Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > Sure, but the premise is no one knows where he is and anyone who knows him is probably in bed. They might answer the phone. They might answer the door. Just because they are in bed does not make them entirely unreachable. And, “does not know where he is” =/= “does not have an idea or two of where he _might_ be, in the middle of the night, if he isn’t home.” > [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > The problem is find someone who isn’t where he normally is and whose phone is off in the middle of the night and get it done in about 3 hours. However, the three hour deadline, which it sounds like is in the movie, might simply be unrealistic or unlikely to be achievable IRL. It being the middle of the night probably would probably complicate things further, yes. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/11 "2026-10-22T15:04:18Z")
Nope, I have no clue how to do this. In the movie, the character Carmelo who is some sort of security guy/fixer simply says “it’s done.” when asked to do it, but I was wondering if this would even be possible in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/12 "2026-10-22T23:39:46Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > In general, finders of missing persons talk to people who know the guy. Odds are that someone knows where he’s likely to be, or who the next person to ask is. Most people are people of habit. > And it seems like in the movie, Dale isn’t trying to hide - so he’s probably going to be in one of his usual places, or a place nearby. > [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > Sure, but the premise is no one knows where he is and anyone who knows him is probably in bed. That’s not much of an issue. Let me just toss out a few ideas. Dale is an employee of the company, so they know a lot about him. They know his address, his phone number and the name of his next of kin. They probably know his car’s license plate. If he’s carrying a company phone, they have access to his phone records, so if he called anyone before turning the phone off, they can call that person. If he’s got a company credit card, they know a lot of local places he likes to go to - and maybe the name of a place he was at, just tonight. And the head of security is not going to worry about waking up Dale’s supervisor, who knows who Dale’s work friends are, and maybe Dale’s favorite bar (or the name of Dale’s girlfriend). My guess is that Dale was at his house, and the head of security got him by going there and banging on the door. But even if Dale wasn’t there, there are a bunch of ways to track him down. It’s not guaranteed that they’d get him in a few hours, but it doesn’t require superhuman efforts either. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/13 "2026-10-23T00:23:54Z")
And if he doesn’t have a company credit card, and he leaves his company phone at home, and said company doesn’t have the resources of the FBI and can;t check credit cards anyway, and if Dale’s supervisor is out, and his friends can’t be reached… well. Finding people like this is a thing movies do, and in the real world…not that fast. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/14 "2026-10-23T00:27:36Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > They probably know his car’s license plate. Though as a Brooklyn resident who works in Manhattan, he may not own a car at all. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/15 "2026-10-23T00:46:28Z")
Good point. If he chose to use a cab when leaving the office that evening, the security folks might be able to trace that. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/16 "2026-10-23T00:51:51Z")
Was I wrong in my previous post that it wasn’t possible in the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/17 "2026-10-23T00:57:20Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > the security folks might be able to trace that. And if the cab company tells them to pound sand…? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/18 "2026-10-23T01:11:46Z")
Then they try something else. But the cab company might be accomodating to a firm that throws business their way. Another possibility- if Dale is an exec, he might have been driven somewhere by a company driver, in which case, finding him becomes much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/19 "2026-10-23T01:32:07Z")
Maybe maybe maybe, Maybe he left breadcrumbs. > [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > The problem is find someone who isn’t where he normally is and whose phone is off in the middle of the night and get it done in about 3 hours. And the reality is, unless you get lucky, you’re not gonna find him in three hours. And that’s if he’s just doing…nothing. If he picked up a lady and is conjugating at her place, you’d never find him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991/20 "2026-10-23T01:49:41Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > My guess is that Dale was at his house, and the head of security got him by going there and banging on the door. Or, more likely, he delegated the door-banging (as well as the door-banging at several other likely locations) to some subordinates. The security head himself can’t be everywhere at once, but with enough payroll, the people who work for him can be (and I gather, from the OP, that someone was willing to pay a lot of money to get him into the office in time). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-get-eric-dale/1033991.md?page=2)