He is the co-author of The Last Master Outlaw, a book that documents his five-year cold case investigation of D. B. Cooper suspect Robert Rackstraw.

Prior to his work as a consultant, he was a story researcher for CBS and Paramount Pictures and founder of media service Industry R&D.

[3] Colbert spent his early career as a story researcher for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and then with Hard Copy.

[4] Colbert used his national network of contacts to collect high-profile stories from local media and then sell them to television and motion picture production companies.

[5] Tips generated by Colbert became books and films,[4] including The Vow, Baby Brokers, Fly Away Home, and Boys Don't Cry.