Trust your friends on Facebook?

Black and white pictures and decades-old trophies date the 60-year-old business, but it's as active today as when it started in 1948.

Flip Dow heads the family bail bonds business that carries his name.

Started by his father all those years ago, the company sticks to traditional techniques of tracking down absconders using addresses, phone numbers and informants. But technology provides new tricks of the trade, Dow said.

Flip and Carol Dow call themselves outdated, but they hop online like the rest of us and often use Google to help with their work — including finding those who have failed to appear in court. The latest tool they've added to the toolbox is Facebook.

If it's on Facebook ...

The couple's son, Freddie Dow, made the suggestion. Why not post pictures of absconders on Facebook with a reward attached?

"If they miss court, they're going to get their picture made (and posted)," Flip Dow said.

Now, a month into the new tactic, it's brought in a handful of folks they say were on the run.

The thing about Facebook, and human nature, is that someone always has someone mad at them, Dow said. If they're mad enough, maybe a Facebook post could prompt them to make a call.

The company most recently posted a picture for Greg McNeil with a reward of $500 for tips leading to his arrest.

The Gaston County man has a past failure to appear charge in Cleveland County and several in Gaston County, for which Dow Bonding helped him make a $100,000 bond.

That post hasn't panned out yet, but four others have, Dow said.

It's a risky business

Dow talks about the change in culture he's seen while working in the business that puts up money in hopes that people will show up in court — a hope that seems realized less and less.

"It's more dangerous money-wise than it's ever been," he said.

Those charged with failure to appear in court make up half of his business, Dow said.

Bail bondsmen allow customers to post 10 to 15 percent of the assigned bond. Often, family members use property to raise the money, and some lose it all when a relative fails to come to court.

Dow said he'd rather not try to collect on someone's property. It means extra fees and sometimes years in court.

Those facing charges also spend extra money when they're caught, and the county pays by having to house someone more days in jail, Dow said.

A handshake and a man's word

Flip Dow Bonding sits along Broad Street in Gastonia, a stone's throw away from where Dow grew up. But his perimeters don't stop at the county line.

He's bonded out people in Cleveland, Lincoln and several other counties. His operation is nationwide, though most of his clients are in this area.

Referring to his late father as Papa, Dow said his dad was his hero. He watched him start the bail bondsmen company. The job was different then, he said.

"My daddy used to get a handshake back then, and a man gave his word," Dow said. "People went to court back then. They don't now."

Dow served in the military and then pulled a stint with the then-rural county police department before joining the family business.

He and Carol sit feet away from each other while they answer phones, go through the books and keep things running. Not announcing a retirement date yet, they plan for Freddie to take over in years to come.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-669-3334 and www.Twitter.com/ShelbyStarDiane.