It seemed like the unlicensed contractor was never going to have to answer to charges that he scammed an elderly Del Paso Heights couple out of nearly $200,000.

Keith McGowan was a no-show at a sting set up by the Contractors State License Board that last day in April.

But Sacramento Police Detective Mike Wood, who had helped in the investigation, refused to give up. He learned that McGowan would be staying at a friend's house in Antelope. Wood found him, and now McGowan sits in jail with a $1 million bail.

Wood is the department's lead investigator of real estate fraud, a position created three years ago and partly funded by a county grant to deal with an influx of financial crimes that came with the boom in the real estate market. He is one of only a handful of real estate fraud detectives in Sacramento County.

With the economic downturn, new forms of fraud, scams and schemes in the real estate world have emerged, keeping Wood busy. As more homes go to foreclosure, for example, "professional squatters" move into vacated bank-owned homes, pretend to lease out the properties and abscond with renters' deposits.

One case that Wood investigated involved a Kentucky woman who found her credit ruined because her Social Security number had been fraudulently used to buy Sacramento real estate.

Burly and mustachioed, the 43-year-old, straight-talking detective said he had always wanted to be a police officer but didn't see his dream realized until 13 years ago.

After graduating in 1987 from University of California, Davis, with a bachelor's degree in environmental planning and management, he applied for various law enforcement positions in California. He wasn't hired for any of the limited positions available at the time.

"I was disappointed, but I got over that quickly and pursued other interests," Wood said.

That detour took him to the jungles and coastlines of South America, where, as a marine biologist, he taught shrimp farmers how to increase production.

"Here I was, a young kid, living on my own, in a foreign country," Wood said. He worked hard six days a week but also played hard. Living near a beach resort in Cartagena, Colombia, he was enjoying life, learning a new language, experiencing a different culture and meeting new people.

But he also remembers terrifying bombings in 1989, when drug traffickers waged a terror campaign against the Colombian government. Once, a bomb blew out the windows of his apartment building.

Tourists stopped coming to the resort area, leaving it isolated, Wood said.

"It took a lot of the fun out of it," he said.

By 1995, Wood's work in the fishing trade had taken him to China, back to South America and then to Eureka for three years.

When the fish-processing company he worked for was going downhill, Wood decided to go back to his first love – law enforcement.

"I got tired of working with fish; I guess you can say that," Wood said.

His expertise in real estate crime makes Wood a valuable resource within the Police Department. Homicide detectives often ask him to conduct asset searches, which could help them determine motives of an alleged killer.

Colleagues said Wood is always willing to help.

"He's very good about digging in and finding information for you," said Detective Jenny Wirtz, who investigates financial crimes. "He's always happy and upbeat."

A name tag identifies his sparsely decorated cubicle at the Sacramento Police Department headquarters on Freeport Boulevard: "Detective Michael Wood, aka Michael Wook. And it's not Woods. Real Estate Fraud" – a joke gift from a colleague after Wood's name was spelled incorrectly in an in-house article.

Earlier this year, Wood was interviewed on national television for a news segment on the increasing incidence of real estate fraud. Although his appearance lasted but a few seconds, Wood said he was happy to have been able to help alert more people to this type of fraud.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.