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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288173,00.html

Case of Missing Colorado Woman Paige Birgfeld Baffles Investigators
Thursday , July 05, 2007

(http://www.foxnews.com/images/298888/1_61_dixon_paige.jpg)


GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. —

Colorado authorities are baffled by the case of a missing mother of three and are investigating whether she may have staged her own disappearance.

Paige Birgfeld, 34, of Grand Junction, Colo., has not been seen or heard from since June 28. The Mesa County Sheriff's Department is still listing it as a missing persons case.

"We're looking into all possibilities, whether she walked away or someone took her away," Heather Gierhart, a spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff's Department, told FOXNews.com. "At this point we really don't have anything that would indicate one over the other."

On Sunday night, Paige Birgfeld's red Ford Focus was found ablaze in a business parking lot about two miles from her home. Lt. Jim Fogg of the Mesa County Sheriff's Department said authorities have not ruled out a random act of vandalism.

Click here to read more at MyFOXColorado.com.

"It definitely does raise suspicion, but there isn't anything additional than that at this point that would indicate that we should change our investigation to something other than a missing person," Gierhart told FOXNews.com.

Authorities have used bloodhounds to search Birgfeld's home and torched car.

Her family, who reported her missing on June 30, believes she may have run into foul play in her work with a modeling agency and escort service.

"She was here in Grand Junction, and there was nothing out of the ordinary," her father, Frank Birgfeld, told the Denver Post. "And then she simply vanished."

Click here to read the Denver Post report.

Birgfeld posted messages in March on www.chefsuccess.com indicating she feared the return of one of her ex-husbands, Rob Dixon, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports. She wrote that her children asked if their dad was going to kill her.

Dixon was arrested on charges of domestic violence after allegedly shoving Birgfeld during an argument and later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment, the Denver Post reported.

Investigators have questioned Dixon and said he is cooperating fully. Dixon's attorney told the Post he was in Philadelphia working as a paramedic the week that Paige Birgfeld disappeared.

On Monday night, about three dozen family and friends held a candlelight vigil for Birgfeld to pray for her safe return.

Paige Birgfeld is described as 5-foot-4-inches tall, weighing 110 pounds. She has sandy hair and hazel eyes and was last seen wearing a blue strapless top with flowers and blue denim shorts. She also goes by Paige Dixon and Paige Beigler, authorities said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Mesa County Sheriff's Department at 970-244-3500.

Focus narrowed in search for missing mom
Paige Birgfeld of Grand Junction may have been working for an escort service, investigators said.
 07/06/2007 03:51:23 AM MDT

Mesa County sheriff's investigators are focusing on "some individuals" who had contact with a Grand Junction mother days before her disappearance, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

Paige Birgfeld, 34, has been missing since June 28.

A few days later, her car was found in flames in an empty parking lot less than 3 miles from her home.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Gierhart would not identify the people they were focusing on or say what investigators are looking at.

Gierhart confirmed that investigators think Birgfeld, a mother of three, had been working for an escort service.

Birgfeld's father, Frank Birgfeld, said earlier in the week he believed she might have a side job either as a model or an escort.

She was known by friends and family to have sold Pampered Chef products.

Birgfeld posted messages online earlier this year saying she was afraid of one of her ex-husbands, Rob Dixon.

Dixon was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence against Birgfeld in 2005. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

At the time, he told police he was angry because he learned Birgfeld was giving topless massages to men.

Gierhart said Dixon has been cooperating fully with investigators. No suspects have been named in Birgfeld's disappearance.

http://**/headlines/ci_6308558

do we know if the ex was abusive?

Police Suspect Foul Play in Disappearance of Colorado Mom Paige Birgfeld
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288556,00.html

(http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/bergfeld_graphic_070709_ms.jpg)

The Secrets We Keep

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3361526&page=1[/img]

More than 70 volunteers join in search for missing woman

 7/14/2007 3:00:39 PM
More than 70 volunteers search for a Grand Junction woman, missing for more than two weeks. 9NEWS at 5 p.m. 7/14/07
GRAND JUNCTION – On Saturday, more than 70 volunteers searched for a woman who had been missing for two weeks, but came up empty-handed.

The nine teams of volunteers searched several areas, including a field that was approximately one mile from Paige Birgfeld's car was found burned and abandoned on July 1. The last anyone heard from her was on June 28.

Investigators said earlier in the week they now suspect foul play in her disappearance. They also released information about her employment in the sex industry for a number of years.

Birgfeld's older brother, Craig, joined the searchers looking in the field. He told 9NEWS why it was important for him to do that.

"Selfishly, for myself, I want to find my sister because I love and miss her. More so, I want to find my parents' daughter because I don't want them to go through any more time without her, but mostly I want her kids to have their mom. That breaks your heart more than anything else," Craig Birgfeld said.

Don Bedford is leading the volunteers for the Abby & Jennifer Rescue Foundation.

"We want to bring her home. She's got family members that are wondering, 'You know, Where's Mom? Where's my daughter?'" Bedford said.

The search was scheduled to resume Sunday at 7 a.m.

The Abby & Jennifer Rescue Foundation was established in May 2002, after an initial organization and search for Jennifer Blagg of Grand Junction and her daughter, 6-year-old Abby Blagg.

Jennifer Blagg's body was found in a landfill seven months after her 2001 disappearance. In April 2004, Jennifer's husband Michael was convicted of her murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Abby Blagg's body has never been found.

http://www.9news.com/news/top-article.aspx?storyid=73707

Searchers Find Items Belonging to Missing Colorado Mom Paige Birgfeld

Monday, July 16, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289435,00.html

Uh-oh. It sounds like they may have found her clothes, or her purse.
Here's another young woman who may not be alive either.
I feel terrible for her children.

Clint Van Zandt wrote an interesting article about this situation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19791840/

WOW  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  - I guess you just never know.  I am a firm believer in; the truth ALWAYS come out.  Whatever the truth may be.

Thanks, Easy. That was a very good article.
 I do hope her children are being cared for by a father who loves them, and I hope he is shielding them from all the stories about their Mom. They are so young, and now they are probably Motherless. Very sad.

I have to wonder if husband 1 or 2 wasn't exacting a little revenge?  I think the husband will be found to be involved....

On Greta it was reported that a mechanic in the area had some clues at his house?  I missed most of what was said, I hope Sleeks or BB you heard this one...

apparently they suspect him?  maybe that ties into the burned car?

Missed Greta, hadn't heard about a mechanic Mrs Red...but i'll keep my eyes and ears  open  :wink:

Information from accident could help in Birgfeld case

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Information surrounding a traffic accident could help authorities piece together clues in the case of a missing Grand Junction woman.

Mesa County Sheriff’s investigators want information from motorists who were diverted around an accident the evening of June 28 at 23 and G roads. Paige Birgfeld’s Ford Focus was found burned out at about 10:30 that night at 727 Road 23 near the location of the crash.

“We can’t say why we’re looking but we’re interested in the detour routes that people took,” said spokeswoman Heather Gierhart of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department. “I think there were many detour routes. There are so many people who could have information or could have seen something.”

Gierhart said investigators aren’t interested in the accident itself, but in things people may have seen while rerouted around the accident. People with information should call Mesa County Sheriff’s investigator Peter Burg at 244-3263.

In other news, authorities haven’t found evidence of body in the Grand Valley Canal, as reported to police by a passer-by on Monday. Deputies have been checking traps at various points two miles downstream from the possible sighting in the canal between Seventh and 12th streets. Gierhart said deputies will continue to visually check the canal for about a week.

Gierhart said authorities haven’t resorted to dredging the waterway.

“Bodies can get caught under-water and pop up later,” she said.

Authorities have not confirmed there is a body in the canal. Birgfeld is the county’s only reported missing persons case.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/07/18/7_18_6a_Birgfeld_sidebar.html

Mrs. Red I did not catch this one - unfortunately.  I do have to agree with you, I think husband # 1 or even # 2 could have very easily got upset and angered by what she was doing.  I am also wondering if either of them had any access to her computer postings.  Especially since she didn't have any positive words to say about husband #1.  But also that unanimous poster who was 'so in love with her.'  It just takes one obsessed person or one very angered person .... it really is too bad she was playing such a game of Russian Roulette with her life.

I am going to try to see what if anything I can find out about his mechanic.

Ex-Husband Says Missing Mom, Who Moonlighted as Escort, Planned on Meeting Clients the Night She Vanished

Thursday, July 19, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289958,00.html

Well thank you for that post BB - I don't know what the heck I read yesterday, I was under the impression she was afraid of the first ex.  So it is the second husband that she was posting about.   I still have a problem with the first ex being 'OK' with her life choices and wanting to rekindle the relationship.  What type of person says they love someone thinks those choices are acceptable???  And the worst part is, these people have children.  It would be bad enough if they were just single and living that way.  But to have your children with a live-in nanny while your off doing unimaginable things with strangers, come on.  

I don't know I think about these poor children of today growing up with (or in some cases not with) these twisted less than suitable parents.  I don't mean to upset anyone.  But these kids have to now live with what she was doing.  I cannot foresee them growing up saying 'well gee we had a beautiful million dollar home....'  All they are going to remember is their absentee mother who was off doing _______ with strangers who paid her for it.

Jul 19, 2007 8:28 am US/Mountain

Police Search Home In Hunt For Missing Woman
Father Of Grand Junction Woman Appears On CBS Early Show
Paige Birgfeld Last Seen June 28

(CBS4) GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. Investigators in Mesa County searched a home in Fruitvale for a second time in less than a week Wednesday, looking for evidence in the case of a missing woman. The woman's father talked about the case Thursday morning on the CBS Early Show.

Paige Birgfeld, 34, was last seen June 28 and was reported missing two days later. Her car was found on fire one day after she was reported missing.

Police have said her disappearance may be related to her work for an escort service.

"We know what the odds are in this thing," said Frank Birgfeld, Paige's father, while appearing on the CBS Early Show.

Investigators spent 8 hours at the house in Fruitvale Wednesday. A search over the weekend of the area where her car was found also revealed some clothes and other personal belongings of Birgfeld's.

The personal items were about 10 miles from where her burned car was found on the highway July 1, a few miles from her home in Grand Junction

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_200102946.html

(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/videos/th_34d8fe81.jpg) (http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/videos/?action=view&current=34d8fe81.flv)

I also heard on the news that the mechanic lived close and had prior incidents  - I want to say he was a sex offender, but I am not sure it I am hearing that correctly.  It was rushing around getting dressed this morning...

Watching this story right now on Fox... the are blathering about how because she lived in a million dollar home, she should have been a different person...

she ran an acupuncture clinic... her first husband met her in a parking lot before she disappeared and he has since said he doesn't think he will ever see her again.

I have to wonder if the first husband is involved and he is trying to frame the mechanic...

Sleeks wrote;


I have to agree Sleeks there is definately something wrong with the whole picture. Priorities that are screwed up, people doing things for money that they wouldn't need in the first place if they didn't live in million dollar homes and have live-in nanny's. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming this woman for being the victim...but I do blame the life she was living for what are apparently many of the wrong reasons. There are those that argue,"Well someone could be killed easier  crossing the street,than working for an escort service."
My response to them would be, "You greatly increase the odds of being hit if you cross with your eyes shut." Paige Birgfeld seemed to have her eyes closed IMO.

I think that hubby #1 holds some answers still... watching Greta..

the first hubby knew she was going to meet two johns... and he didn't think anything was wrong with that... ummm I think he set something up.

BB I could not have said that better myself!!!  Especially the part about 'crossing the street with your eyes closed.'  EXACTLY!!!  Let's see this is really the example one would want to set for their children, in order to live this well, we need to do sleezy things.  NO - SORRY!!!

Again I too have sympathy for her if she did indeed come to a horrible end, I have sympathy for her family & kids.  But I still do not agree with what she was doing to 'support' them.

And Mrs. Red, I have a problem with that one too.  First husband knowing that she was off to meet  other men.  As I said yesterday, what person (man or woman) says they love someone and thinks it acceptable to go out and do that???  What a mess!!!

Who's house did they search?  Was that the mechanics, in Fuitvale or somewhere?  I bet LE has an idea huband #1 is involved in this and is  probably trying to get more evidence.

In all my reading of this case; Idid not know they found checks! :shock:  


http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5630929,00.html

I am having an extremely hard time hearing the way her closest family and friends are talking about this.  Almost like nothing about what she was doing was wrong.  Perhaps they think if they don't speak about it, nobody else will.  Don't misuderstand me, I realize they miss her and want her back.  But nobody wants to cut to the chase.  IMO, that lifestyle, she really was playing with fire.  Whether it was her husband(s) who would had something to do with it or a complete stranger.  How can one play in the mud without getting muddy???

I think they are trying to combat the media's saliciousness over her business and they are afraid that people won't take the fact that she is missing seriously, so they are going the girl scout route...

I personally truly believe that HUBBY #1 is the culprit... or is involved.  He stated she was too trusting.. uh, she was in business with the seediest side of ppl.

http://**/breakingnews/ci_6424336

Clifton man 'of interest' in missing mom case
By Kirk Mitchell Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 07/20/2007 02:31:40 PM MDT


Authorities today named Lester Ralph Jones as a person of interest in the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld, whose car was found ablaze three weeks ago.

Heather Gierhart, spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, said a home at 3072 Hill Ave. was searched for the second time on Wednesday.

She did not say who lived in the home but real estate records indicate it is where the 56-year-old Jones lives.

Gierhart declined to say why Jones was a person of interest, but she said he is not a suspect in Birgfeld's disappearance.

"We're naming no suspects," Gierhart said. "There are a lot of people who are persons of interest."

Authorities have said they suspect foul play in Birgfeld's disappearance. Recently, about two dozen items that likely belong to her were found scattered along U.S. 50, south of Grand Junction.

"The investigation is going very well," Gierhart said.

Jones did not return a phone message on Friday.

Gierhart said she couldn't comment on whether Jones has cooperated with authorities during the investigation.

According to the CBI, Jones served at least five years in prison for convictions of first-degree assault and second-degree attempted kidnapping in 1999 in Delta County.

Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.

(http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p149/Morgan2112_2006/LesterRalphJones1.jpg)


Lester Ralph Jones, 56, has been identified as a person of interest in the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department said this morning.

“Through the process of our investigation Lester (Jones) has come to our attention,” said Heather Gierhart, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department.

“Lester Jones is a person of interest.”

— Le Roy Standish

Jones’ CBI record shows 12 separate charges stemming from a Jan. 1, 1999, arrest by the Delta County Sheriff’s Department. The charges included two counts of harassment or false imprisonment; two counts of assault or menacing and second-degree kidnapping; a weapons offense; two misdemeanor traffic offenses; reckless endangerment; and false imprisonment.

On Jan. 13, 1999, Jones was arrested by the Paonia Police Department on suspicion of obstructing justice by intimidating a witness or victim and contempt of court for violating a restraining order.

On Feb. 9, 1999, Jones was arrested by the Delta County Sheriff’s Department on suspicion of contempt of court for violating a restraining order, false imprisonment, assault in the third degree, sexual assault and burglary.

On Oct. 10, 1999, Jones was sentenced to five years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for kidnapping in the second degree, according to the CBI.

Klaasend - this guy sounds like a real prize.  Does not sound good AT ALL.

No it doesn't sound good.   :cry:

LESTER RALPH JONES - POI
(http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p149/Morgan2112_2006/LesterRalphJones1.jpg)

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5638423,00.html

(http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p149/Morgan2112_2006/LesterRalphJones3.jpg)

LESTER 'RALPH' JONES

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19919780/
Too many missing women, too few answers
Will Paige Birgfeld, Lisa Stebic, or Mahalia Xiong be found alive?

By Clint Van Zandt
MSNBC
Updated: 3:05 p.m. MT July 23, 2007
 
 
Clint Van Zandt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Profile
• E-mail
 
 

Of the 51,000 adults currently listed as missing in the United States, most know the story of 34-year-old Paige Birgfeld, the Colorado mother of two who has been missing since June 28.

What makes Birgfeld’s story different is the two lives that she led up to her disappearance, one as the twice-divorced woman who sold Pampered Chef products and taught dance lessons to preschoolers, and another as a one-woman escort service who used the Internet to advertise the various personal services she offered to meet the needs of some men.
Paige, known to her escort service clients as “Carrie,” may have been attempting to rekindle her relationship with her first husband the night she disappeared. He apparently was one of the few who knew of her night time activities with other men, indicating that she had told him that she had two clients to see after she left him that evening. Her cellphone was later used within a few miles from her home, and her burned down car was subsequently found in an auto parts lot, but Paige never made it home that night and has not been seen since. MSNBC video

 
  Missing Colo. mom led double life
July 16: Police searching for Paige Birgfeld have learned that the mother of three was living another life under the name “Carrie” and running an escort service.  MSNBC’s Clint Van Zandt takes a closer look at what may have made Birgfeld live this second life.
MSNBC
 
 

Investigators would need to consider her two former husbands and the clients of her escort service as possible suspects in her disappearance— especially the two clients she allegedly told her first husband she was going to meet the night she disappeared. She also had other business dealings, but it was her escort service clients that attracted the attention of investigators after they accounted for her two former husbands.

It is from that client list that a current “person of interest” has been identified, this after authorities searched his home twice seeking evidence that could further link him to the missing woman. 56-year-old Lester Ralph Jones has a history of domestic violence, including a 1999 arrest for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon against his then-wife, for which he was convicted and sentenced to a five years the state prison. One media report suggests the obvious: that Jones was a client of Birgfeld's escort service. What makes him perhaps even more interesting to law enforcement is the fact that the RV repair company where he works is just a short distance from where Paige’s burned out car was found.

If you were an investigator trying to find Paige, you might also consider the possibility that one of the clients she was allegedly going to spend time with the night she disappeared could have been Jones. If evidence was developed— perhaps a record of a telephone call between Paige and Jones or an appointment noted on her personal calendar in reference to him— then she could have met him at a location convenient for both of them, like the parking lot of the auto parts facility. Somehow, though, the working theory would also need to explain how items from her purse (her video store card, her checkbook registry and checks, etc.) were found strewn along the median of a highway miles from where her car was found. Could her assailant, in that theory Ralph Jones, have thrown them out of his car after being with Paige? Or could she have sensed her peril and surreptitiously dropped them from the car that was taking her away from her home and children?

Jones, whose current wife was out of town on the 28th, is a man who chased his former wife at speeds of over 100 mph, rammed her car, ran her off the road, and forced her at gunpoint to come with him. If Jones or another client of Paige’s escort service (known to its clients as Models, Inc.) had an appointment with her the night she disappeared, it’s likely that they will be much more than “persons of interest” should they not be able to account for their activities on that night.

Meanwhile there are two children who now have no mother. They’re now with their father, Paige’s second husband. Paige’s father has been named by a judge as his missing daughter’s conservator until she returns. It's a thread of hope that her family clings to, and they continually cite the case of Elizabeth Smart as evidence that Paige could still come home.

This poor family. I have a feeling their hopes will be crushed, and I really hate that for them. The burned out car is a very bad omen, IMHO. I think it was set on fire to destroy evidence of a murder.

Search moves to Delta...

http://kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6842130

Lester Ralph Jones is from Delta where he was previously married and then later convicted of aggravated assault among other crimes after he chased down his ex-wife at high speed, and then later shot at her boyfriend at the time.  Attempted murder charges were dropped in lieu of his guilty plea.  Now it seems he may be back on the prowl...  

Coincidentally, there is another missing woman from Colorado with similar features, Nonnie Dotson, who disappeared November 19, 2006.  The two areas of interest are appx. 120 miles apart.

Archived article from 199?

Man gets10-year termfor shooting,kidnapping
By AARON PORTER

DELTA — A Crawford man who shot at his estranged wife's boyfriend early this year and later kidnapped her was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

While driving through Hotchkiss on Jan. 6, Ralph Jones, 48, encountered his 31-year-old wife, Lisa Jones, in a vehicle with her boyfriend, Joe Bear, according to court documents. Jones tried to force his wife to stop several times during an ensuing high-speed chase on Colorado Highway 133.

The chase ended abruptly after Jones sideswiped the couple's vehicle on a county road near Paonia. After firing two shots at Bear, who was fleeing down a nearby railroad track, Jones pulled his wife from the car and threatened to kill her, court documents state.

Shortly after his release from jail, Jones violated his bond conditions by kidnapped his estranged wife on Jan. 30, according to an arrest warrant. She escaped in Jones' vehicle when he entered a Delta hotel to obtain a room for the night.

Authorities captured Jones the next day, after he flew to Oklahoma in search of his wife.

Jones pleaded guilty Aug. 18 to six felony charges stemming from the original assault and violence charges, as well as violating conditions of the bond from the shooting incident.

http://web.archive.org/web/200001161...5712.0484.html

Not only was Lester Ralph Jones a 'client' of Paige's, but her vehicle was found in flames in the parking lot at of HIS place of employment, Bob Scott's RV.

thanks Grande...

WOW - Hate to say it, but stalker mentality types usually don't just quit that behavior after one time.  It is extremely possible he took some liking to her (out of the norm).  HEY what if he was that writer on that post???  YIKES!!!  That definitely sounded like a stalker!!! :shock:

I believe one of the many links in this post shows that.  It was people (clients of hers) who rated the women.

Comments about women working for an escort service are not necessarily the equivalent of stalking. She most likely had no escort-service activities that were different than her normal escort-service activities, although it is always a possibility that something went wrong there. The absusive ex-husband who was travelling to her location is the prime suspect.

I know there is a temptation to look for lurid headlines and lurid details of the various activities she was engaging in but in truth, things probably were not that exciting or that profitable either.

All I know was what was written on that one webpage she was listed on.  Her clients would write in and rate her.  One of the 'johns' had a definite obsessive personality.  IMO that is a stalker mentality.   

True, it certainly could be her ex husband (which one??? :shock:) or someone completely random. 

I just thought what that one particular party wrote was definitely someone LE should look into.

Oh, I'd definitely have LE look at anyone the least bit obsessive in the rating system but I would not elevate them to Prime Suspect. She had been an escort for quite some time but her former husband was rather newly arrived in the area.

There seems to be a dispute as to whether she was a "full service" escort or not. Misunderstandings on this issue might have been a source of enhanced anger and frustration if a client expected sexual intercourse but only received a massage while she was topless.

The real problem seems to have been her financial desperation that may well have lead her to take chances with her safety. A single mother with three kids and a six thousand dollar a month mortgage payment?

 Maine Police Dogs Sent To Help Look For Missing Colorado Woman


Web Editor:  Matt Bush, Online Content Producer   
Created: 8/5/2007 6:55:26 PM
Updated: 8/5/2007 7:00:33 PM

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(NEWS CENTER) -- Two dogs from Maine have been sent to Colorado to join in the search for a missing woman from Grand Junction. The woman disappeared June 28th.
     
Her burned out car was discovered July first and now a handgun has been located near the car.

The dogs from the Maine Warden Service are being used to try and find the woman. She is a mother of three who police say also ran a call girl service.


www.wcsh6.com

This came acrossed our local news tonigt.  I hope these dogs are able to locate her.

Gun found near missing woman's car; search dogs aid case

Associated Press - August 6, 2007 12:04 AM ET

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - A gun has been found less than a half-mile from where authorities found the burned out car of a missing Grand Junction woman.

A man reported finding an unloaded nine-millimeter handgun about six inches off the road, near where Paige Birgfeld's car was found July first. It's not known if the gun is connected to the case.

Birgfeld is a 34-year-old mother of 3 who was last seen June 28th. She was reported missing two days later.

Yesterday, search dogs released near where Birgfeld's car was found led investigators to a nearby RV dealership where Lester Ralph Jones works. Jones has been described as a "person of interest" in the case.

Sheriff's officials weren't saying what the dogs might have found.

http://kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6889556

Well, that is not unexpected. After torching the car, the arsonist has to get home some way and that usually means he either has a co-conspirator with a separate vehicle or he has to hoof it to some nearby place.

Search for missing Junction mom narrows

http://**/news/ci_6573519

I do so hate to throw these little tidbits out there, but I must.....

I mean I know all of our families love us in spite of ourselves, but I just cannot help but wonder what her father really thinks of his daughter.  More importantly, how she chose to raise his grandchildren. 

Does anyone even know if he has ever commented on that??? I have not read back on previous posts.  But off the top, I do not remember him commenting.  And I just have to say again, she was definitely playing with fire at least.

PS to my thought above - this one is not a case of an innocent person going missing.  It is not like Kelsey or the countless others who were living decent lives and some nut came along.  This is a case of a woman who was putting herself out there for any whack job who came along (so to speak). 

IMPO - she could have chosen a thousand other ways to earn a good living for her and her children. 

And don't misunderstand me, I don't think anyone should be violated.  I just think this certainly upped the anty.

Yeah. I hear WalMart was hiring. She could have chosen that.
Would her murder be sufficiently deserving of investigation then?

Normally I would not even waste my time responding to this, but I just have to say you someone who only wants to hear what you want to hear.  Try reading all of my posts.

PS - yeah WalMart would have been a much better choice!!!  And correct me if I'm mistaken, I said nothing about her murder not being deserving of an investigation.  Again - try reading all the posts in their entirety before quoting blurbs.

Perhaps the money is why she chose the profession she was in,  I'm pretty sure she couldn't make ends meet working at Wallyworld :roll: they barely pay above minimum wage.  Granted, it would have been a safer job, but......she chose another pathway.

I do not see any way in which WalMart would have been a better choice for her. However, once she did choose the 'escort service' then whether her services were 'all the way' or 'halfway' or 'whatever', she was running a risk. Disease risk? Beatings risk? Death risk? Her primary fears seem to have involved one of her former husbands, not her clientelle. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe not.

You are exactly right Sleeks.
Ridiculous comment. I am almost at a loss for words. No ones demise is warranted, but certain professions increase the odds like it or not.

We all know that some types of behavior are riskier than others. Does anyone deserve to die for that? No, of course not. But it is true none the less. Prostitutes, drug addicts,runaways....they all put themselves at a higher risk of dying because of how they live their lives. I'm not calling PB a prostitute, but she may have angered someone who thought she might go further because she worked topless. It is risky behavior. I also think living a lifestyle that, by choice, keeps you on the brink of financial disaster is risky behavior too. She may have been a risk taker because she liked living on the edge, and it can become very addictive. I suspect that was the case here. If she was truly unhappy with doing it, she would have scaled back on her expenses, moved to a less expensive home, and adopted a safer lifestyle for the sake of her kids. I certainly don't think it should have cost her such a steep price, but she could have done something else about her financial situation besides what she was doing. There must have been some element of enjoyment for her, even if it was only the money she made. That's very seductive too. But I think there was more to her choice than just needing to support her lifestyle. It had to serve some other purpose.

That is exactly why I love you BleachedBlack - we are so in sync!!!   :lol:  That is precisely what I said!!!  And in all honesty, if I had to make a choice as to how to support my family, I would certainly go for the extra part time jobs that did not involve exploiting myself or my family.  Even at the risk of not making as much money!!!  There is no question about it, if you play with fire - sooner or later - you probably will get burned.  When you get right down to it, most of (not all) these missing people are missing because of someone's depraved outlook on life and are almost always sexually violated.  AGAIN (for the masses) I said 'almost always.'  That, in and of itself, is quite a sad statistic.  If the statistics are showing people who weren't involved in a 'particular life style' are going missing, getting raped and then killed - how much worse is the possibility for someone who is probably seeing all the degenerates of society on a regular basis and basically doing 'who knows what' with these same individuals??? 

Again - I don't believe she deserved to die (if that is in fact where we are at).  But she truly was playing Russian Roulette with her life, and the lives of her children.  And again for the masses, and let's cut to the chase here, even though she may have been greatly concerned about one of her former husbands, the fact remains, she was completely open to a vast majority of strangers in the 'field' (if you can call it that) of 'Escort Services.'  So if one is afraid of someone that supposedly they already knew (their ex-husband) how much MORE SHOULD one be afraid of what is really out there in this great big world of the unknown???  And worse yet, she posted about the problems with her ex-husband so any psycho could have read that and saw that as his/her opportunity.  That is NOT TO SAY, I think these former husbands should go unchecked either.  I personally think ANYBODY is mental who says they love somebody and think it is perfectly acceptable for them to go out and sell themselves and throw away any chance of intimacy they have as husband and wives.

Has anyone been able to figure out the number of weeks she successfully negotiated the risky terrain of "Not-all-the-way-Escort" versus how many weeks she faced danger from the approach of the specific men she feared?

FoolsGold

I appreciate you trying to help these missing people but you really need to watch what you say. Parents and family members read here and some of your comments are unacceptable. Like your comment about April Beth Pitzer.

Fools Gold... I am now telling you formally that you are walking a fine line here.... if I have to say one more time that you need to be more sensitive in your posts, you will lose your voice.

Do Not under any circumstances imply that any missing person deserved what they got.... there is room for all opinions here except for the mentality of they asked for it...and you are walking very close to that line, IMO.

Grandparents seek custody of missing Grand Junction woman's children
August 22, 2007

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/home/article/0,1299,DRMN_1_5679819,00.html

Bleachedblack  Did I read this entirely correct???  The last part of that link confused me, from what I read the children's father has taken the kids and that Paige's father is seeking custody.  Do they know where the children's father is???

Oh my goodness. Those poor babies. They must be so confused, and they are surely missing their Mother. Now there's going to be a battle over their custody, and they will face more hurt and confusion. It could go on for years.
When a Mother goes missing the children are always left in such a painful limbo, and usually a nasty tug of war begins among relatives, or they go into the child welfare system and disappear.
It just compounds the tragedy.

Suspect Named in Disappearance of Missing Mom Paige Birgfeld
Tuesday , October 02, 2007



ADVERTISEMENT
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. —

Colorado police named a suspect Tuesday in the disappearance of missing mother Paige Birgfeld.

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office named Lester Ralph Jones, 56, of Grand Junction, Colo., a suspect in Birgfeld's June 28 disappearance.

Jones had been named a person of interest in the case. He worked at an RV dealership near where Birgfeld's burned out car was found July 1. Foul play is suspected in Birgfeld's disappearance, police said.

Police did not release details of Jones' relationship with Birgfeld, nor whether he was in custody.

Birgfeld, a 34-year-old mother of three, was reported missing June 30.

A search along an area highway over the weekend of July 18 turned up several of her belongings. Investigators haven't said where the items were found.

In August police found a gun less than a half-mile from her car. A man reported finding an unloaded Ruger 9mm handgun about 6 inches off the road.

Investigators said the gun was booked into evidence. No record was found on an initial check of its serial number.

Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said it's not uncommon for people to find weapons. He said the proximity to Birgfeld's car would be of interest to the investigators on the case.

He said determining the gun's ownership will require following the paper trail.

Friends and family have described the twice-divorced Birgfeld as a devoted mother who sold kitchen products out of her home and held other jobs to support her children. Authorities say they've discovered that Birgfeld also had an escort service, a discovery that came as a surprise to many who knew her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Family, friends gather for remembrance of missing mom

Sunday, October 28, 2007

If they could, the intimate group of friends and family who gathered Saturday night to talk about Paige Birgfeld would have given anything to summon her back.

Almost four months after the doting mother of three young children vanished from their lives, those who knew her best remembered her as she would have liked: smiling; with a child on each hip; helping others.

More....

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/10/28/102807_1b_Birgfeld_remembrance.html

Here is all of the info Grande and I compiled in Paige's case. There are many Google Earth shots in these posts.

http://zoltanzion.blogspot.com/search?q=paige

There are also some pictures showing the areas where some of her items were found.

Grande was posting on the chefsuccess forum also.

I am so saddened by some of the comments I am reading here.  How can anyone think that anything this woman may have done is or should be a contributing factor to her death.  The reality of this situation is that most people are not saints and many of the people that are missing may have participated in some kind of riskier behavior.....   

Get it through your heads....none of these people deserve to die for their lifestyles.  And their families defiantly don't deserve to not know what has happened to their lovedones! 

I know I read the question about "what does her father think of her lifestyle and how she was raising his grandchildren".....obviously she was doing a great job at keeping her choice of occupation separate from her life as a mother.  As a parent of a missing adult child, I can tell you first hand....I did not always agree with my son's choices....but I have never even considered not continuing to support him and love him for who he is.....  The love of a parent is not conditional!  At least it should not be!   :2brickwall:

Carolyn

Carolyn I will speak for myself.  I don't believe anyone deserves to be murdered.  I do believe however, different lifestyles will contribute to what happens down the road. 
I believe  (knowing how my own mother raised me) that Paige could have easily made different choices.  My mother did not choose the road that Paige did.  She chose a harder (financially speaking) road.  She was able to put herself through some schooling so that we could have a better life.  She did not resort to "selling" herself (which of course would be financially easier).  I mean as a mother yourself, you have to think to yourself - Kids are NOT stupid!  Sooner or later, as much as you try to conceal things from them, they are still going to find out.  I don't believe any parent should set such a sad example and I believe that is why we are looking at a very sad world in this present day.  Obviously children will rebel and probably start doing things that are less than reputible but how much sooner does that happen when a parent is setting an example that says (ex) a life of drugs is OK or a life of selling oneself is OK. 

I personally do not appreciate people who say "Well she needed to maintain a certain lifestyle."  Or that "she really couldn't get another job."  Sorry - DON'T buy it!!! Nobody NEEDS to do anything.  And there really is no such word as "can't."  We can do anything we put our minds to. There are times in life when times are tough.  There were for my mother, but we were not paupers.  And all I can say looking back now is, THANK GOD she is someone I can respect, she did not do anything cheap.  We got by and ended up having a better life.  And horrific lifestyles do contribute to horrific ends.  I have gone to school myself with too many people who were deeply involved in drug trafficing, needless to say, many of them are not here now because of that lifestyle.  I am certain that goes along with any other criminal behaviour as well. 

I am the first person to give someone the benefit of the doubt.  I see Paige as a pretty (probably bright) young woman.  I am sure if she applied herself in a different direction - she could have had a very nice life with her children.  I don't personally know if this Person who is considered the suspect had anything to do with her escort service or was he just some sick ticket who saw her at that moment in time.  I know for myself, I would want my children to be able to say the same thing about me as I am able to say about my own mother.  I think it is tragic (because the truth always does come out) that her children have to now live with that decision she made.  It would be just as tragic if it were drugs or organized crime - whatever.

PS to my last remarks, I think anyone on this board who knows me based on my writing, I am not saying everyone is supposed to be perfect.  Nor am I saying that any of us are free of any skeletons in our closets.  I am saying when you are a parent - you need to stop acting like your teenagers - get over yourself, a be a responsible adult so they have someone positive to follow.

PSS - If any of you know my mother and how difficult it was for someone in her situation to get herself out of same.  My point again, if she could do it ANY MOTHER COULD. 

Sleeks,
I agree with a lot of what you have said.  Your mother sounds like someone I would really admire.  I myself was a single mother, I put myself through college and now own my own business - for almost 11 years.  That being said, I did make a lot of mistakes, and things that I look back on now and wonder what I was thinking at the time.  My point is that Paige made a choice and while I don't think it was a choice I would make - she must have had some reasons for feeling it was a necessary choice. But, regardless of her choice her family deserves answers about what happened and where she is.  There are always natural consequences for every action we make....I just hope and pray people look at the person that has disappeared and realize that they are a person that deserves, love, compassion and understanding.  I have been pretty open about my son and his disappearance...although I may not like what he may have been involved in, nothing can change the fact that he is my son, I love him, and I would never turn my back on him for making a bad choice.  It goes back to it's OK not to like something someone does just don't forget to love the person.

Take Care.

Carolyn

Carolyn:  Yes I certainly agree with that.  I do feel LE needs to be diligent in finding out what happened to her.  Same thing with your son or any missing person.  I think it is tragic when they just seem to give up or stop caring.  In my opinion, I think allot of these cases LE does know (or have a darn good idea) of what happened to these missing people and it is like they just let it go by the wayside.  That is why we really have to be thankful for the groups like TES and probably dozens more that are doing all they can to get answers for the families.
Because Lord knows you all deserve the necessary answers.

Sleeks ~ I agree with you.

Sleeks and Muffy - I agree with you...TES, Let's Bring Them Home, Dana Pretzer, Jason's Project, Scared Monkeys, Blogs For Natalee, etc....they all have been incredible.  I know this does not list everyone, that helps families of the missing but these are the ones I have personally dealt with and I don't know what I would do without them!  Take  Care,

Carolyn

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/03/12/031308_1A_Birgfeld_TV.html

'48 Hours' zooms in on Birgfeld caseThe Daily Sentinel

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A national television show is putting together a program about missing Grand Junction woman Paige Birgfeld.

Birgfeld’s mother, Suzanne Birgfeld, said Wednesday that producers of the CBS News show “48 Hours” had been filming at their home for an hour-long segment they expected to air in May. A producer for the show was not immediately available by phone for comment Wednesday.

Despite the extra attention, Mesa County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said there are no new developments in the case.

Paige Birgfeld was last seen June 28, 2007, in Eagle, when she met with her first husband. Police were notified June 30 that she had not returned home, and her burned-out vehicle was found the next night in a parking lot about two miles from her north Grand Junction residence.

The Sheriff’s Department has said it suspects foul play in her disappearance and has listed Grand Junction man Lester Ralph Jones, 56, as the lone suspect in the case, but no arrests have been made. Jones was among several men connected to Birgfeld’s secret life as an exotic dancer and escort known as Carrie to customers of her company, Models Inc.

Authorities have twice searched Jones’ home at 3072 Hill Ave. Jones also worked at a business across the street from where Paige Birgfeld’s burned vehicle was found.

The Sheriff’s Department and volunteers launched a massive search last summer for Paige Birgfeld. Searchers found some checks with her information on them on the side of eastbound U.S. Highway 50 near Whitewater, but no other clues have been released by investigators.

Suzanne Birgfeld said Wednesday she and her husband, Paige’s father, Frank, are trudging through the painful process of selling their daughter’s home and her belongings. Frank Birgfeld plans to resume searching for his daughter in the spring after the snow melts, Suzanne said.

“He can’t not do it,” she said.

Suzanne said people still avoid calling the home number because Paige’s voice is on the answering machine.

Benjamin said the Sheriff’s Department has been contacted by producers from “Dateline NBC,” who plan to be in town next week. Benjamin said staff members of that show indicated they would hold off on airing the segment until new developments formed in the case or an arrest is made.

ABC’s “20/20” aired a short segment on Birgfeld’s disappearance last summer.

Benjamin added that occasionally Denver television stations call and request interviews. Since fall, Sheriff Stan Hilkey has declined interview requests until new information surfaces in the case.

Birgfeld case eyed for Mesa County grand jury
March 13, 2008


http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20080313/COMMUNITY_NEWS/566536380

GRAND JUNCTION — District Attorney Pete Hautzinger on Wednesday said a Mesa County grand jury may be hearing evidence in the case of missing mother Paige Birgfeld by the summer.

    Hautzinger confirmed a grand jury was seated on Friday at the Mesa County Justice Center.

    “It might be worthwhile if we haven’t moved further along (in the Birgfeld investigation) by late summer or early fall,” the DA said.

    “Based on everything I know, I believe (Birgfeld) is no longer living.”

    Hautzinger said his opinion is based largely on Birgfeld’s “devotion to her children” — not a collection of evidence in the case.

    A Grand Junction resident who was called — but ultimately not selected — for the months-long grand jury process told the Free Press that Hautzinger spent most of his presentation Friday before would-be grand jurors discussing the Birgfeld investigation, gauging what people knew about the case through media reports. He also probed opinions.

    “He wanted to know if someone didn’t have a reputable job, would they be more deserving of being killed, than, say, a bank robber or a priest,” the resident said, recounting a question offered by Hautzinger while sizing up the jury pool.

    “He asked specifically if we knew (Birgfeld’s) profession.”

    The resident, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said roughly 80 people responded Friday to Chief Judge David Bottger’s courtroom before hearing from the DA.

    Nearly three hours into the process, 12 regular grand jurors were selected along with two alternates.

    Aside from Birgfeld, the resident said Hautzinger discussed the prospect of several “meth-related” cases being presented, but the DA didn’t delve into specifics.

    The resident also said would-be grand jurors would have to be available for service up to a year — meeting periodically when called by court officials.

    It wasn’t clear when they will start meeting.

    In a lighter moment Friday, the source said Bottger drew laughs with remarks after Hautzinger poured cups of water for several jurors — one juror was struck with a coughing fit during the presentation.

    “It must be an election year,” Bottger reportedly quipped.

    Hautzinger and Bottger declined comment on events inside the courtroom on Friday.

12 months of service

    State law says a grand jury must be called in counties with populations of 100,000 or more “at the first term” of each year.

    They’re called through a motion filed by the court or the district attorney.

    A grand jury hears only from prosecution witnesses.

    Jurors’ service is up to 12 months, but the term can be extended up to 18 months. A grand jury may choose to issue an indictment, decline an indictment or, in some cases, issue a report.

    Prosecutors, however, aren’t obligated to file formal criminal charges identical to a grand jury indictment, according to state law.

    “I could defer that, given the fact in any criminal case you get one crack at it,” Hautzinger said.

A case with no body

    A grand jury in Mesa County was halfway through its term in December 2002 when an elk hunter near DeBeque found the skeletal remains of 18-year-old Coty Vernon of Gypsum.

    She’d been missing since February 1998.

    Jason Garner was indicted for Vernon’s murder and convicted at trial in November 2004.

    Hautzinger presented evidence to the grand jury in that case.

    In the Birgfeld case, Mesa County Sheriff’s investigators in October named 57-year-old Lester Ralph Jones as the lone suspect in Birgfeld’s disappearance in late June 2007.

    Sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said Jones’ status hasn’t changed.

    Birgfeld, 34, a mother of three children who led a double life running her own escort service, was last heard from June 28 returning to Grand Junction from Eagle after spending the day with her first husband, Howard Beigler.

    Her car was found burning the night of July 1 in a parking lot at 727 23 Road. Jones worked at a nearby business as a mechanic.

    The actions of Rob Dixon, Birgfeld’s second husband, were also a focus of a grand jury in Mesa County. No indictments were returned in February 2006 after months of investigation focused on the botched investment of public dollars by board members with the Grand Junction Rural Fire Protection District.

    Dixon was one of four board members who invested $3.24 million in Fire District funds into a New York-based Internet service provider.

Slowly saying goodbye
Saturday, March 15, 2008

Nearly nine months after the disappearance of Grand Junction woman Paige Birgfeld, some of her friends reluctantly embarked Saturday on the task of selling household items and seeking a buyer for her sprawling home north of town.

A garage sale that continues today at 2512 Oleaster Court offered a glimpse into Birgfeld’s life. For sale were: bolts of colorful fabric, a reminder of her love of sewing; toys that her kids have outgrown; merchandise from her business as a Pampered Chef consultant; and other mementos of the 34-year-old mother of three who inexplicably vanished June 28.

Friends are overseeing the garage sale because Paige’s parents, Frank and Suzanne Birgfeld, are visiting their grandchildren this week in Philadelphia. Paige’s second ex-husband Rob Dixon has custody of the kids and lives there.

The timing of the garage sale with Frank and Suzanne’s trip probably wasn’t coincidence, friends said.

“I always just think if it was my kids, I couldn’t do it, either,” said Connie Flukey, who helped orchestrate the sale. “We’ve seen them suffer enough already. This is hard enough for them to know that all her stuff is going to be gone.”

Flukey said most of the shoppers seemed to know the items belonged to Birgfeld’s family, and some people probably purchased more items than they needed to show support for the family.

Friends of Paige Birgfeld in the MOMs Club gathered in January, seven months to the day of her disappearance, to again say goodbye to their friend.

“It was a big relief for all of us,” Andrea Land said. “I think we all felt about 50 pounds lighter.”

A massive search effort was launched in the weeks following Birgfeld’s disappearance, but it produced few clues to her whereabouts or condition and prompted the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department to determine foul play was involved. Now, every time the media delivers another story about Birgfeld, who led a double life as an escort, those old wounds open back up, Land said.

“Every time it resurfaces, it hurts just as much as the first day,” she said.

Land said she and others plan to search for Birgfeld’s remains again once the weather warms. Searching feels empowering and is “better than sitting around and waiting,” she said.

Land said the only way she will fully feel closure in the case of her missing friend is if her remains are found or if someone is prosecuted for her murder. Grand Junction man Lester Ralph Jones, 57, is the lone suspect in the case, the Sheriff’s Department has said, and a grand jury may investigate the case, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said last week.

“Being in limbo is the hardest part,” Land said. “It’s the most surreal thing. Nobody ever thinks it will ever happen to them.”

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/conte...rage_sale.html

Just thought it would be good to post this here...

The Pueblo Chieftain (Colorado)
 
July 29, 2008 Tuesday 
 
BRIEF: Unsolved crime forum begins Thursday

Jul. 29--A series of forums focusing on unsolved crimes will come to Pueblo this week.

Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons will host a cold-case forum at El Pueblo Museum, 301 N. Union Ave., beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The grass-roots, nonprofit organization is committed to supporting families and friends of people killed in unsolved homicides.

Sheriff Kirk Taylor will attend, along with Chief Jim Billings and Deputy Chief John Ercul of the Pueblo Police Department. The forum aims to bring investigators and legislative candidates together with loved ones of victims of unsolved crimes in hopes of finding answers.

Unsolved murders in Colorado number 1,300. At the forum, a database of victims from 1970 through the present will be presented. A local unsolved homicide will be featured.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:829008154&start=11

Police hope bone found in Utah will help Colo. case
July 31st, 2008 @ 9:20pm

Bones found along the Utah-Colorado border have given Colorado
investigators hope they will finally be able to solve the case of a
young mother who has been missing for more than a year.


One of the bones, a piece of human skull, was found in Utah and now
is being tested at the medical examiner's office in Salt Lake.
Colorado investigators are anxiously awaiting results. They want to
know if it belongs to a victim in an unsolved murder case.

Paige Birgfeld of Colorado, a mother of three, was last seen in June
of 2007. Investigators say the piece of bone could be from her.

A Mesa County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said, "This could be
anyone, really. It gives hope to families and to us. It could solve
one of our cases."

Though investigators are waiting to confirm if the bone belongs to
Birgfeld, they've contacted her father, Frank Birgfeld.

"To some degree I want to find her," he said, "but on the other hand I
don't want to find her not alive."

Last week, as Utah was celebrating Pioneer Day, hikers in the Bryson
Canyon area of the Bookcliffs, near the Utah-Colorado line, spotted a
bone and took it to the Mesa County Sheriff's Office in Grand
Junction, Colo. Then investigators brought the bone to Salt Lake for
testing.

Ten people are searching a five-mile area of the Bookcliffs in Bryson
Canyon for more evidence. Any bone found is being bagged and labeled.

Steve White, with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, said, "We're
working with some doctors out of Salt Lake with anything, any bone, to
confirm whether it's animal or human."

One woman, Connie Flukie, has searched for Birgfeld before. "I feel
sickened this is it. The family deserves some peace. This could be
her," she said.

White said, "It would be nice to put some closure. If there's a family
or something missing someone, it would be nice to put some closure to
that."

Though Paige's father wants closure, he doesn't know if he wants the
bone to be his daughter's.

"My situation is to wait and see if this has anything to do with
Paige," he said.

It will be some time before the medical examiner's office releases
results from tests on the bone.

Paige Birgfeld was a mother of three, last seen with her ex-husband
the night of her disappearance.

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.true-crime/2008-08/msg00034.html

Bone discovery leaves mystery

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Ten searchers on Wednesday were tasked with searching an area northwest of the Colorado state line after a hiker discovered a human bone there, according to Utah’s Grand County Sheriff’s Department.

A person whom law enforcement declined to identify found the bone while hiking in the Bryson Canyon area of the Bookcliffs in Utah, and turned it over to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department.

Mesa County Forensic Pathologist Robert Kurtzman confirmed Wednesday the bone brought to the Mesa County Coroner’s Office on July 24 was identified as a human remain.

Kurtzman said the bone has since been turned over to Utah’s medical examiners office for further study, but it is too soon to make any determination of who the bone belongs to. Kurtzman declined to speak about what type of bone it was or whether it was from a man or woman.

On Tuesday, investigators from Grand County and one investigator from Mesa County traveled to the site where the bone was found to search a three- to five-mile swath for additional remains, Grand County officials said in a news release.

Speculation had surfaced recently about the remains because the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department recently reported that local investigators had been tasked with identifying human remains discovered in the region.

The father of Grand Junction woman Paige Birgfeld, who has been missing for more than a year, was notified by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department, prompting talk that the remains may provide some answers in the highly-publicized case. Frank Birgfeld said he was notified of the find, but not given any further information.

Spokeswoman Heather Benjamin of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department said, if requested, Mesa County will provide DNA to Grand County investigators on the county’s 11 missing persons cases reported since 1983.

Kurtzman said it is illegal for anyone who believes they have come across human remains to move them from the site.

He added that solving cases of found human remains can take years, citing a case that was recently solved when hikers found a human skull on Grand Mesa two years ago.

“It’s early,” Kurtzman said of the recent find. “It’s been blown way out of proportion. These cases are complicated. It involves a great deal of effort.”

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2008/07/30/073108_1B_body_folo.html

  Aug 6, 2008 7:22 pm US/Mountain
Paige Birgfeld's Father Won't Give Up Looking

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) ―  More than a year after his daughter disappeared, a determined father talked about his frustrations with the case with CBS4.

A mother of three, Paige Birgfeld disappeared last summer in Grand Junction. Police began the search after finding her burned out car. CBS4's Andrea Lopez spoke to her father, Frank, after the recent discovery of human remains had some wondering if it was his daughter's.

"You've got to keep going, you've got to keep looking," Frank said. "I need to be closer, I need to be active."

Paige disappeared June 28, 2007 at the age of 34. She was within 5 miles of her home.

"I think it's my mindset now that the crime against her was pre-planned and thought out," Frank said.

Some personal items such as a checkbook of Paige's were found on a highway 15 miles outside of Grand Junction. Her burned car was found two days after she disappeared.

"I think when we find her things will develop rather quickly," Frank said.

Many searches have turned up virtually nothing that has led to Paige although recently the sheriff's department said pieces of human bone were found in Utah.

"It was basically a piece of human skull that, to tell you the truth, was discovered over a year ago," Frank said.

Paige had a secret life that turned up in the course of the investigation. She was part of escort service making cash to help support her children. A customer has been a suspect, but no arrests have been made.

"It's my hope that she will walk through the door," Frank said. "Do I think that will happen? No."

Paige's house has since been sold and her children live with their father in Pennsylvania.

Frank vows never to give up looking for Paige.

"Maybe luck will come my way and something will happen," he said.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/birgfeld.paige.grand.2.789663.html

As far as I can see, no word on identification of the bone found. I am keeping an eye on it. Here is a photo of Paige that I had not seen before.

Such a pretty young woman .... so sad...  ::MonkeyNoNo::

This does not mention Paige, but I believe it is the same area as the remains in the above posts...

Book Cliffs body search: Inmate's tips guide search for remains
Investigators continue to look for another Colorado woman after they uncovered remains Wednesday. Very interesting, to say the least...

http://**/ci_11907613?source=most_viewed


http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/03/13/031309_3a_Utah_bones.html

While searching for news in this case, I found reference to Paige Birgfeld by her father Frank.  He is still trying to find his daughter.   The article concerns eliminating the death penalty in Colorado, and is dated Feb. 23, 2009.
I'll post the snipped portion here.  Please go to the link if you would like to read the entire article.

  Feb 24, 2009 2:48 pm US/Mountain
Lawmakers Approve Plan To Eliminate Death Penalty
By Steven K. Paulson, AP Writer

<snip>
Frank Birgfeld, father of 2007 Mesa County victim Paige Birgfeld, told lawmakers his life has been in limbo since his daughter mysteriously disappeared. He said she is presumed dead by authorities, though her body has never been found.

Birgfeld said an investigator promised to pursue the case but warned that he is pursuing 58 other cases, and missing person cases can take 20 years or more.

"Give it a pair of fresh eyes," Birgfeld told lawmakers.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/cold.cases.death.2.942324.html

May 15, 2009 Friday The Denver Post
 
Dad asks sheriff: "Where's cash?" Frank Birgfeld alleges his missing daughter left large amounts of money behind.

The father of a Grand Junction woman missing almost two years wants the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into whether law enforcement took "tens of thousands of dollars" from her home after she disappeared.

Frank Birgfeld, the father of Paige Meredith Birgfeld, sent certified letters dated Monday to Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

In the letter to Hilkey, Birgfeld stated that he notified the sheriff in September about the missing money, based on reporting done for a June 10, 2008, episode of the CBS television show "48 Hours."

"Sources have told '48 Hours' that investigators discovered a large amount of cash in Paige's home, tens of thousands of dollars …," the show alleged.

Hilkey issued a written response Thursday.

"It is unfortunate that Mr. Birgfeld has chosen to make unfounded allegations," he stated. "However, it does not dissuade this office from its commitment or desire to successfully resolve the Paige Birgfeld case, nor will his complaints ever cause any lapse in professional ethics or integrity by any member of this agency."

Birgfeld, 34 when she went missing in June 2007, lived a double life, according to investigators.

She was a single mother raising three children in a million-dollar home with the help of a live-in nanny, while selling Pampered Chef home products.

She also worked as an escort named "Carrie," who advertised her services and featured a revealing picture of herself on her "Naughtynightlife" website.

"It has been established that Paige operated with substantial amounts of cash not deposited into a bank account," Frank Birgfeld stated in his letter to the attorney general. "The monies were very likely hidden in her Grand Junction residence."

Two days after she disappeared, Paige Birgfeld's new Ford Focus was found burning in a parking lot about 2 miles from her home. An investigation determined it was arson, most likely to destroy evidence.

Her body has not been found, and no one has been charged in the case.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:972814272&start=8

Bone in murder probe 'unidentifiable,' cops say

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Nearly a year after a hiker in Utah stumbled upon it, a small piece of human skull that piqued the interest of investigators looking into Paige Birgfeld’s disappearance remains a mystery.

But while questions remain about the roughly silver-dollar-sized bone, Grand County (Utah) Sheriff James Nyland said he’s confident about one thing: who it didn’t belong to.

“It didn’t appear to be recent enough to be from any of these homicides,” said Nyland, referring to Birgfeld’s case and the murder of Leann Emry, a Washington woman whose partial remains were found in March near Moab. Today marks two years since Birgfeld was last seen alive.

The bone in question was returned to Grand County this past spring after it had been tested at the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Va. Nyland said the FBI couldn’t extract DNA because of the bone’s age. He didn’t offer an age estimate.

“It’s not identifiable,” he said. “It was found at the bottom of a dry wash (in Bryson Canyon), so it could have come out of the Bookcliffs.”

No other bones submitted by Grand County were tested at the FBI lab, Nyland said.

Mesa County Sheriff’s Department investigators spent several days searching in Utah in late July 2008 after the bone was found by a hiker, who picked it up and brought it to Grand Junction. It was eventually handed over to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office.

Authorities have said it’s illegal to move any suspected human remains.

Mesa County law enforcement officials still think about Birgfeld, a mother of three children, whenever news breaks about the recovery of human remains in the region. Most recently, the June 14 recovery of a dismembered body in a Glenwood Springs apple orchard had authorities wondering if it might be Birgfeld. Instead, it was a missing Aurora woman, 38-year-old Janine Ann Johler.

Birgfeld, 34, an escort known to clients as “Carrie,” was last heard from while driving back to her Grand Junction home the evening of June 28, 2007, after spending the day with her first husband, Howard Beigler of Aurora.

Beigler and Birgfeld’s second husband, Rob Dixon, were cleared in October 2007 of involvement in Birgfeld’s disappearance. At the same time, authorities named Pear Park mechanic Lester Ralph Jones as the lone suspect in the case.

No arrests have been made.

While Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said investigators are waiting to hear back on several items sent out for testing to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, there have been no recent new leads. District Attorney Pete Hautzinger last year raised the prospect of presenting the case to a Mesa County grand jury, but made no commitments.

The proceedings are secret under state law.

“That seems like a logical next step in the absence of new developments,” Hilkey said of a grand jury probe.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/06/27/062809_3a_Birgfeld_folo.html

I was searching for any news in Paige Birgfeld's case and I found an article in which she is mentioned.  A body was found, but it isn't Paige's. 

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11002444
Body found near Dominguez Canyon

Posted: Aug 27, 2009 11:51 AM

Updated: Aug 28, 2009 02:18 PM
Dominguez Canyon

Mesa County Search and Rescue is assisting Mesa County Sheriff Deputies in the recovery of a body found by hikers Wednesday.

We are learning the call came in early afternoon on Tuesday. Emergency response crews had a long hike into the scene at the Dominguez Trail Head on the uncompahgre National Forest. We've learned they got their as the sun was setting and realized they didn't have enough time to recover the body.

They set off for the site again Thursday morning and have reached the body. They are in the process of recovery. The Mesa County Coroner will determine manner and cause of death. We are not being told anything about the victim at this time, except investigators did say it is not the body of high profile missing Grand Junction woman Paige Birgfeld.

Human remains found in remote area

GUNNISON COUNTY - Investigators have their work cut out for them after human bones were discovered in a remote area near Somerset over the weekend.

The Gunnison County Sheriff's Office says someone discovered the skeletal remains on Saturday in a mountainous area amid rough and rugged terrain. Deputies went out and found more bones in the same area on Monday.

Investigators turned the remains over to the county coroner, who plans to work with an anthropologist from Western State College, in an attempt to identify them. Deputies say right now they're still trying to figure out if the remains were of a man or a woman, how old the person was and how long the bones had been there.

According to deputies, if the coroner and anthropologist can't identify the bones, they may have to send them to a CBI or FBI crime lab.

The bones were discovered in an area where the underbrush and growth was 2.5 to 3 feet high and deputies say it was a very lucky find.

Deputies say they are crosschecking missing persons cases in the area and statewide as part of their investigation.

Investigators planned to search the area again this week to see if there are more remains in the area.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=123294&catid=339

Lot's of people missing from Colorado, but I'll put this here.

Sheriff: Skull female

September 18, 2009 4:12 AM MDT

SOMERSET — Gunnison County Sheriff's official expect a lengthy investigation into the death of a woman whose skull and other bones were found near Bear Creek Saturday.

Sheriff Rick Murdie said in a news release that the bones — the top part of a skull and others — are those of a female, likely in her twenties.

His officers are using Colorado Bureau of Investigation databases to locate the names and dates of missing persons within the past 10 to 15 years, and those departments with missing persons are being contacted for information.
 
The skull contained two teeth appropriate for dental comparison and that possibility is being considered.

Additional resources will be used at the discovery site over the next few days to locate further remains. According to the sheriff, Western State College's anthropology department will perform an extensive search of the area under the supervision of law enforcement,also within the next few days.

There is little evidence, or leads, the sheriff said.

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2009/09/18/breaking_news/doc4ab2a9a802609848731956.txt

Gunnison sheriff: Skull, bones not Paige Birgfeld's

By PAUL SHOCKLEY Link: The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gunnison County Sheriff Rick Murdie on Wednesday said he’s confident human remains recovered from a hillside near Somerset are not those of missing Grand Junction woman Paige Birgfeld.

“These bones had been on the ground a lot longer than two years,” said Murdie, who said his agency had been in contact about the find with an investigator from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department, among other agencies.

“I don’t believe we’re dealing with Paige here.”

Birgfeld, 34, was last heard from driving to her Grand Junction home the night of June 28, 2007.

Murdie did not offer an estimate for how long he believes the remains were exposed outdoors. He said a preliminary analysis conducted Tuesday by anthropology faculty at Western State College, and Gunnison County Coroner Frank Vader, suggested the bones belonged to a female approximately in her 20s.

Those descriptors have been entered into a missing persons database maintained by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Murdie said.

They’re waiting for a match.

“Then we go to the agency that answered that information,” Murdie said.

The bones will be shipped to forensic pathologists in Montrose, who will be asked to determine cause and manner of death, he said.

“There’s a lot of work to be done yet,” Murdie said.

Gunnison authorities have said the remains — a skull missing its lower jaw bone and seven other upper-body bones — were found on steep, rough terrain that is private property just north of Somerset. A worker who was clearing trees in the area stumbled upon the bones on Saturday.

An item of clothing, which authorities have refused to describe in detail, was also found.

Murdie said a search team, which will include anthropology faculty and students from Western State, will be returning to the site in the coming days to comb over more of the area around the find.

The sheriff has said the partial skull and bones were found scattered in a roughly 100-foot radius.

BREAKING NEWS - UNCONFIRMED - Body Found

I don't want to get carried away.....sounds hinky to me.....the reports are not from the USA.

http://www.twominutenews.com/2010/world/paige-birgfelds-missing-body-found-6829.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1786846-paige-birgfeld-body-found-the-story-behind-her-disappearance

http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20996&highlight=PAIGE

http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/8627107.html
(Video Avail at link)
 MCSO: Lester Ralph Jones is a "Person of Interest"

Sunday, march 28, 2010
(http://media.graytvinc.com/images/Jones_Lester.jpg)

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that Lester Ralph Jones, the man who lives at a residence that has been searched twice in connection with the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld is a "person of interest" in her disappearance.
 The Mesa County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that Lester Ralph Jones, the man who lives at a residence that has been searched twice in connection with the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld is a 'person of interest' in her disappearance. Sheriff's Office Deputies have previously stated they suspect foul play.



On Wednesday, agents with the CBI and Mesa County Sheriff's Deputies searched a Fruitvale home for the second time since her disappearance.

Jones was arrested on a Domestic Violence case in 1999. Jones previously plead guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, violent crime where a weapon was used, and kidnapping. He spent time in prison from 1999 to 2001 with the Colorado Department of Corrections. He was released into a work release program in Mesa County. For less than a year Jones was under intensive supervised parole and then went under regular parole in 2003. Jones completed his parole in 2005.

Paige Birgfeld Body Found

Paige Birgfeld Body Found – Several different rumors have been circulating on the internet in recent days about the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld. These rumors have stated that her body was found this morning, although those claims have not been confirmed or substantiated. The rumor states that the body that resembled that of Paige Birgfeld was found, and that they are going to be running several different tests and looking at her dental records to determine whether or not the body that was found today is in fact hers or not.

It was not immediately clear where the body was located when it was found, as the individuals that found it have been keeping a tight lid on the situation and have made sure not to allow any details about the case to leak out to the press. Her story became a national story when she went missing, but with all the time that has passed since she went missing over three years ago, it appears that the story may have been forgotten about by a large number of individuals.
She first disappeared on June 28, 2007. It was not clear that she was abducted or had been harmed, and eventually the story lost all of its media attention and went to the back burner of the detectives list. The family has not confirmed whether or not they have been contacted by authorities, who may be waiting for the test results to arrive back home before contacting the family and giving them false hope that their daughter may have been found. It is too early to say whether or not the body is that of Paige Birgfeld, and it is expected that that information will be released over the coming days. Paige Birgfeld was first missing after she visited Grand Junction. It was not clear if she had left the area on her own power, or if she was forced to do so by another individual.

http://news.spreadit.org/paige-birgfeld-body-found/

 ::MonkeyShocked:: " resembled that of Paige "  ......she has been missing 3 years! ????

Posted: 5:02 PM Mar 29, 2010
http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/89469172.html
Sheriff's Office dispels Internet rumors that Paige Birgfeld's body has been found

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says Internet rumors claiming the body of missing Grand Junction mother Paige Birgfeld has been found are false.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says Internet rumors claiming the body of missing Grand Junction mother Paige Birgfeld has been found are false.

Birgfeld disappeared in the summer of 2007.

Recent Internet posts claim her body has been found, but the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office says the allegations are “false” and “not true.”

The case is an active and on-going investigation.

Lester Ralph Jones remains the primary suspect.

I watched this show tonight about Paige on Discovery ID, if you get a chance to watch the show, it is done very well and a good synopsis of what's in this thread and some more indepth info on Lester Jones. They feature lots of unsolved missing persons.  They show lots of family & friends.  I hope revisiting this will cause someone to come forward with new information.

http://investigation.discovery.com/tv/disappeared/the-missing/paige-birgfeld.html

Paige Birgfeld
Missing since February 28, 2007

WATCH NOW June 28th, 2007, 9 pm — 34-year-old Paige Birgfeld is only a few miles from home when she calls her ex-husband on her cell phone. They had just seen each other that evening, and she wants to let him know she is almost home. She promises to check in with him later that night, but Ron Biegler never hears from her. He chalks that up to the fact that Paige has three young children to manage all by herself. But when Ron calls her home 3 days later, one of the children tells him that Paige had never arrived home that night. Ron immediately calls the sheriff's office.

Mesa County Sheriff, Stan Hilkey, feels certain that Paige did not disappear voluntarily. She is a devoted mother, with a beautiful, million-dollar home that she worked long and hard for, and there is nothing to indicate she wanted to get away. In searching for alternate explanations, the police first start questioning Ron Biegler.

But friends prove more suspicious of Paige's second husband, Rob Dixon — a man she had a violent and passionate relationship with. She fell for him when he was a wealthy patron of the strip club where she worked. They had a whirlwind courtship. Within months they married, and quickly had three children. In 2004 Paige had called the police for help, saying her husband threatened to kill all their children. One year later she called 911 again, saying Rob had pushed her down and punched her in the throat while she held their baby. Rob was arrested, and one year later they divorced.

All the while, Paige had kept several businesses afloat to support the family and Dixon's habit of wasting money. She started a dance company for preschoolers; she sold high-end kitchen supplies out of her home; and, she worked as a high paid stripper. This side of her life was completely hidden from her parents. Though the family is very close, they knew nothing about her exotic dancing and stripping.

Only months before her disappearance, Paige posted a message on her blog claiming her children asked if Dad was going to come and kill her. Her parents took notice. But by the time of Paige's disappearance, Rob had moved across the country to Pennsylvania.

While first husband Ron is wary of Rob and has heard stories of his violence, he has more pressing news for the police. When he and Paige met up on June 28, Paige told him she was going to keep two appointments she had that night with clients from her escort service. An escort service her parents knew nothing about.

She has not been heard from again.

I watched Investigation Discovery/Disappeared RE: Paige for the first time last night. It was very informative....

http://investigation.discovery.com/tv/disappeared/the-missing/paige-birgfeld.html

http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/missing-persons/birgfeld/paige-birgfeld.html

http://**/breakingnews/ci_20123470/remains-missing-mesa-county-mother-paige-birgfeld-found

Remains of missing Mesa County mother Paige Birgfeld found in Delta County


Bittersweet, I'm sure.

Thank you for the update KittyMom.  Paige can now be laid to rest.   ::MonkeyAngel::

Moving this on over to "Missing Found Deceased".

http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/remains-idd-as-paige-birgfelds/
Remains ID’d as Paige Birgfeld’s
By Paul Shockley
March 7, 2012

Paige Birgfeld’s remains have been found.

Less than 24 hours after the recovery of a near full human skeleton in north Delta County, dental records today were used to make a tentative identification of Birgfeld, 34, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department announced this afternoon. A DNA comparison has been requested through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to confirm the results, while the remains will be turned over to a forensic anthropologist toward determining any evidence of trauma, the Sheriff’s Department said.

“Other personal items were found along with the remains and will be considered for DNA testing based on past successes with trace evidence,” the release said.

Investigators continue to search the area where the body was found for additional clues. Birgfeld’s case has been classified as a homicide, the Sheriff’s Department said.
More...

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30628394/detail.html
Skeletal Remains Of Missing Mother Found
Paige Birgfeld Had Been Missing Since 2007
Written by Wayne Harrison, Web Editor
March 7, 2012

DELTA, Colo. -- The skeletal remains of 34-year-old Paige Meredith Birgfeld have been found just south of the Mesa County line by hikers.

Birgfeld had been missing since June 28, 2007. Her 2005 Ford Focus was found burning on July 1, 2007, in a parking lot in Grand Junction. Investigators said the fire was intentionally set.
 ::snipping2::
Mesa County investigators have been looking for her since her disappearance and her case was classified as a homicide.

The remains were found by hikers around noon Tuesday on a hillside off of Hwy 50 about 1 mile up Wells Gulch Road. That is about 15 miles from Delta.

Dental records were used Wednesday to make a tentative identification, Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee said. Additional testing will be done to confirm the identity.

"We are very confident, based on the forensic evidence, that the remains are Paige Birgfeld," said Sgt. Matt Lewis of the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.
 ::snipping2::
Mesa County investigators named a Grand Junction man as their sole person of interest in the 2007 disappearance.

The investigators named Lester Ralph Jones as a suspect three months after Bergfeld's disappearance. He worked at a nearby business where a tracking dog traced a scent from Birgfeld's burned-out car. He disappeared a short time later.
 ::snipping2::

RIP Paige, prayers to your family for continued strength  ::MonkeyAngel::

OMG OMG OMGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally-------I am kind of in shock....followed this case so close, looked for a 'match' so often, I can't count. Every time a news article was printed from the area/surrounding too---I would jump on it like stink on Poo!!  OMG---------I am so relieved for her family. May peace come to their hearts and Paige...RIP, you can go home now. OMG!  ::MonkeyShocked::

(http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2012/0307/20120307__Birgfeld1~p1_200.jpg)

I can't stop saying it over and over in my head   OMG!!!  ::MonkeyAngel::

 ::MonkeyAngel::  It's been a long  road, but finally Paige is headed home.   ::MonkeyAngel::

I hope there is evidence that will bring about justice for Paige if it can be shown her demise was a homicide. 

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/08/article-0-121331CD000005DC-212_224x423.jpg)   Facebook


(http://localtvkwgn.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/birgfeld.jpg?w=400)
http://kwgn.com/2012/03/07/remains-found-in-delta-co-identified-as-missing-woman/

http://www.kjct8.com/news/30633512/detail.html
Paige Birgfeld: The Investigation So Far
Don Coleman dcoleman@kjct8.com
Posted March 7, 2012, Updated March 8, 2012

http://www.nbc11news.com/localnews/headlines/A_fathers_worst_fear_Frank_Birgfeld_talks_about_losing_Paige_141870493.html
A father's worst fear, Frank Birgfeld talks about losing Paige
Frank Birgfeld visits the site where his daughter's remains were found just days ago by hikers.
Reporter: Brian Shlonsky
March 8, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Frank and his wife tried to get custody of Paige's three children, but they were unsuccessful. The children live in Pennsylvania with Paige’s ex husband, Rob Dixon.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/long-journey-ends-with-discovery-of-paige-birgfeld/
‘Long journey’ ends with discovery of Paige Birgfeld’s body
By Paul Shockley
March 7, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Personal items, including articles of Birgfeld’s clothing, also were recovered from the creek bottom and will be considered for additional testing for trace evidence, said Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey.

Hilkey declined to elaborate on the additional items recovered, nor did he specify which bones were found. A forensic anthropologist will examine the remains toward determining how Birgfeld died.

“A lot of what we found was in pretty good shape,” Hilkey said. “We’ve got a lot of work left.”

Birgfeld’s case was reclassified by the Sheriff’s Department Wednesday as a homicide.

District Attorney Pete Hautzinger referred comment to the Sheriff’s Department when asked about possible time frames for bringing a prosecution in Birgfeld’s slaying.

“It’s certainly a significant development, but there’s still work to be done,” the DA said.

Authorities said the remains were in partial plain view to the hikers who discovered it, while the rest was covered by dirt.

“It’s my opinion she was buried, and causes relating to nature uncovered it,” Hilkey said.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kjct8.com/news/30633401/detail.html
Frank Birgfeld Reacts To Daughter's Discovery
Says He's Been Waiting For This Day Since Her Disappearance, But Hasn't Been Closure He Expected
Janelle Ericsson jericsson@kjct8.com
Posted March 7, 2012 Updated March 8, 2012

Now its time for an arrest.

I hope when the evidence is gathered and processed, there will be an arrest and conviction!   ::justice2NJ::

No doubt in my mind it was homicide---Justice?? We'll see......

(http://cbsdenver.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/paige-birgfeld.jpg?w=420&h=236)

credit  CBS
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/08/birgfelds-dad-stays-at-site-where-remains-were-found/

I wholeheartedly believe Paige was murdered.  I was thinking while I was posting I guess.  What I was trying to say was, I hope there's enough for a conviction.  This would be the start of justice. 

Hi Muffy :smt006

TY

OS

You're welcome, OS.  ::bee::

Thank you for sharing these pictures.  Now perhaps some peace will come to her loved ones as they can give her a proper burial.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/father-struggles-to-cope-after-remains-of-daughter/
Father struggles to cope after remains of Paige Birgfeld found
By Paul Shockley
March 9, 2012

 ::snipping2::
The Mesa County Coroner’s Office on Thursday took custody of Paige Birgfeld’s remains, while an examination toward determining how Birgfeld died was expected to be completed over the coming days, coroner’s investigator Kim Hollingshead said. Toward that end, the bones may be sent to a forensic anthropologist, he said.

Hollingshead held out the possibility they may return to the excavation site to search for more of Birgfeld’s remains.

Authorities haven’t specified which skeletal parts were recovered at the location just north of Wells Gulch Road, roughly a mile east of U.S. Highway 50.
Birgfeld, 34, a mother of three children missing since June 28, 2007, was tentatively identified Wednesday using dental records, although a DNA comparison is expected to be completed. Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said Birgfeld’s remains appeared partially covered by dirt, most likely exposed by water or other natural causes after originally being buried there. The gulch is flushed seasonally by runoff from Grand Mesa.

“Personal items,” among them some of Birgfeld’s clothing, were also found at the scene, officials have said.
Frank Birgfeld said a Grand Junction memorial service will be organized for his daughter, happening sometime after the first week of April, when he and his wife, Suzanne, have tentative plans to take Paige Birgfeld’s children, including a 13-year-old daughter and two boys, 11 and 8, to Florida. The children are with Birgfeld’s second husband, Rob Dixon, in Pennsylvania.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/dad-is-blunt-about-1377631.html
Dad is blunt about missing daughter's double life
By Dan Elliot
March 8, 2012

An added hurt for this family.  We never, never know what is on someone else's plate and as her father said, if she walked in the door, "I would hug her."  What an enormous amount of pain.
 ::MonkeyAngel::

This is so very sad.  One, for a woman who was so desperate for _____ (I don't know what, could be money, could be excitement if she was bipolar, could be she feared she could not support her children otherwise, could be anything), she took a dangerous path.  Two, for her children, who will never get over her loss, who will have their mother's double life hang over their heads, and so very many other reasons, my heart breaks for them.  Three, for her Dad, who clearly loved his daughter and would receive her back with love, if she could somehow walk through the door tomorrow.  Four, for her friends, family, and all who loved her for their great loss.  Five, etc. for those who have worked with her case or followed her case and were working, hoping and praying for another outcome, or who knew the outcome in their hearts.

RIP, Paige.  Prayers for her, her family, and friends, and all who loved her.

 ::MonkeyAngel::

Well said Bearly.

 ::MonkeyAngel::

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/11/back-in-denver-birgfelds-father-looks-ahead/
Back In Denver, Birgfeld’s Father Looks Ahead
March 11, 2012

Video at Link

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/birgfelds-bones-to-be-examined-by-specialist/
Birgfeld’s bones to be examined by specialist
By Paul Shockley
March 13, 2012

Authorities were tight-lipped about an examination Friday at Community Hospital involving the skeletal remains of Paige Birgfeld, which are expected to be sent to a Front Range specialist for more analysis.

Mesa County Chief Deputy Coroner Kim Hollingshead declined comment on observations and conclusions from Friday on a host of issues, such as a possible cause of death. Hollingshead, Coroner Dean Havlik and a representative of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department were involved in Friday’s examination.

The roughly 20 boxes or packages of varying sizes holding Birgfeld’s bones, under lock and key at the coroner’s office, will be transported to a forensic anthropologist sometime over the next few weeks, Hollingshead said. Hollingshead refused to identify the specialist.

“If you don’t have the expertise, you reach out for it,” he said. “This person’s training may spot things we might overlook.”

The remains apparently won’t stray too far from Mesa County custody. Hollingshead said he will drive them across Colorado to their destination, stay with them through the upcoming examination and bring them back to Mesa County.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.9news.com/news/article/259544/222/DNA-confirms-remains-are-that-of-missing-Colo-mom-
DNA confirms remains are that of missing Colo. mom
March 28, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Dental records had allowed investigators to tentatively identify the remains as those of Birgfeld.

Mesa County sheriff's Sgt. Matt Lewis tells The Daily Sentinel that investigators learned last week that a lone tooth matched a DNA profile for her. The cause of death remains undetermined.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kjct8.com/news/30789189/detail.html
DNA Confirmation Of Birgfeld's Remains
The Colorado Bureau Of Investigation Says After Testing The Remains To Birgfeld's Parents And Toothbrush They Have A Match
March 28, 2012

 ::snipping2::
"As in any case, especially a homicide case which this is classed as, we try to be very meticulous and thorough and so we felt it was right to go back and do a DNA comparison just to be absolutely certain and have two means of comparison is better than one," he said.

The sheriff's office says the remains are with a forensic anthropologist. They will do an examination to assist the coroner's office in determining a cause of death.

At this point in the investigation the sheriff's office is waiting for those tests to help them move forward with the case.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/bones-yield-no-cause-of-death-in-birgfeld-probe/
Bones yield no cause of death in Birgfeld probe
By Paul Shockley
April 2, 2012

A Front Range specialist’s examination of Paige Birgfeld’s skeletal remains yielded no conclusions about how she died, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

“There is no readily identifiable cause of death in the investigation,” Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Matt Lewis said.
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http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30824802/detail.html
No Cause Of Death For Paige Birgfeld
Grand Junction Mom Disappeared In 2007; Body Found In Early March
Posted By Alan Gathright
April 3, 2012

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DNA test results have confirmed that the remains found in western Colorado in early March are that of Grand Junction resident Paige Birgfeld, who disappeared in 2007. However, a forensic anthropologist told investigators that no cause of death could be determined.
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“There is no readily identifiable cause of death in the investigation,” Mesa County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Matt Lewis told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

The findings were in a report done by Colorado State University forensic anthropologist Dr. Diane France, the newspaper reported. France examined the bones on March 22 in Fort Collins. She is the director of CSU’s laboratory for human identification.

http://www.kjct8.com/news/30857612/detail.html
New Evidence Gathered in Birgfeld Case
April 8, 2012

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Weeks after receiving confirmation that bones found in Delta County are those of Birgfeld, investigators now say they are receiving test results for the items found nearby.
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The latest evidence returned to deputies was being tested by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Officials won't say whether the suspect's DNA was found or not, but they do tell KJCT News 8 that no new suspects have been identified and no one has been ruled out.

Lester Ralph Jones is the only suspect ever labeled in this case. Deputies do not expect to make an arrest any time soon.

A cause and manner of death has not been uncovered.

http://www.nbc11news.com/localnews/headlines/Community_invited_to_Paige_Birgfeld_memorial_service_147536905.html
Community invited to Paige Birgfeld memorial service
April 15, 2012

Paige Birgfeld's family is inviting the community to celebrate her life. A memorial service has been set for the end of the month here in Grand Junction.

Paige Birgfeld's family is inviting the community to celebrate her life. A memorial service has been set for the end of the month here in Grand Junction.

The service will be held on Saturday, April 28th in the Grand Junction High School auditorium. The service is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

Paige's family asks that those looking to give a memorial gift consider the Abbey and Jennifer Search Foundation or the Latimer House, two organizations in Grand Junction that helped Paige.

"To have all of these people, few of whom knew Paige, none of whom who knew her family generally, turn out and support us like they did. We're very humbled to them and certainly that will be a far better way for people to honor Paige," father Frank Birgfeld said.
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Video at Link

This article shows the importance of researching before donating or becoming involved with some organizations.  Their hearts may be in the right place, but when money and other donations are involved, there needs to be record keeping and of course, compliance with filing the necessary papers for tax-status and etc.  I hope Abby & Jennifer Recovery Foundation are able to get the problems resolved soon.  The group helped with searches in the Paige Birgfeld case and others.  The article has a lot of information.  I've posted just a bit of the article. 


http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/abby--jennifer-recovery-foundation-for-years-has-b/
Abby & Jennifer Recovery Foundation for years has been out of compliance
By Mike Wiggins
April 27, 2012


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Without any forms on file with the IRS, it’s impossible for donors or anyone else in the public to know how much money the foundation has collected or spent, or how money has been spent over the years.

Flukey estimated the foundation raised roughly $8,000 in its 10 years while she and her husband have spent more than $20,000 out of their own pockets supporting the foundation. She said most of the money raised and spent relates to the 2007 search for Grand Junction mother Paige Birgfeld, whose remains were found last month.

 

SUPPORT, CONCERN

FOR THE FOUNDATION

Birgfeld’s father, Frank, said the problems plaguing the foundation strike him “more as omission rather than commission,” and he’s not concerned. He said the group was founded for good reasons and is an underappreciated asset in the community.

“Certainly without question our family is hugely indebted to them for what they did on behalf of Paige,” he said. “Few of the people knew Paige, and none of them knew me.”

Birgfeld, who guessed he’s donated hundreds of dollars to the foundation, said he saw the Flukeys routinely dip into their own pockets to cover the costs of the search for his daughter.

“I’m not surprised that somebody didn’t know to file, but I don’t see anything to suggest dishonesty,” he said. “I will continue to support them.”

Bob Wolcutt, executive director of the Laura Recovery Center, was in Grand Junction at the beginning of the Blagg search and thought Flukey performed good work and has her heart in the right place. He said it’s not unusual for organizations similar to the Laura Recovery Center to form in communities to help search for missing people, and that initially there’s a lot of emotion and enthusiasm that serve to invigorate the group.

“But the reality is, over the long haul, the organizations do fail because they haven’t really figured out there generally isn’t a whole lot of money,” Wolcutt said. “Once the initial crisis is over, they have to figure out how to raise the money and all the paperwork involved (with) state and federal requirements.”

Wolcutt said there is a lot of work involved in running as a nonprofit an organization that searches for missing persons.

“It doesn’t run on its own. You have to be as actively involved as you can to make sure everything gets done,” he said.

He said he’s glad to see Flukey is trying to keep the foundation running and believes it can do a lot of good “if they have the right people involved.”

Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said the foundation’s struggles could harm not just it, but law enforcement and other agencies involved in missing-persons searches.

“From the standpoint of when this organization was helping law enforcement, I think the public often believes they’re part of the law-enforcement agency,” he said. “This stands to hurt everyone’s credibility in those kinds of operations. I hope they can get this issue resolved quickly.”

 THE FUTURE

Flukey says the foundation is taking steps to recover and reorganize.

She said her family hosted a yard sale to raise money to re-register the organization with the Secretary of State’s Office. Records show that happened Wednesday, with the foundation now registered under the Flukeys’ home address. Reinstating its tax-exempt status also is on the to-do list, she said.

Volunteers next month will begin calling the 2,000 or so people listed in the foundation’s database to enlist their help. She said she started putting together marketing packets and will seek financial backing from corporate sponsors. Someone agreed to donate a fifth-wheel trailer in which searchers can travel and sleep, saving on lodging costs, she said.

Flukey said she intends to enlist the help of attorneys to ensure everything is being done legally and convene a new board whose members will stay committed to the cause.

“I will be aware of every single thing with every single board member,” she said. “It shouldn’t have to be that way. But I guess it has to be that way. I have way too much trust that this is other people’s passion.”
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http://www.krextv.com/news/around-the-region/Frank-Birgfeld-Wants-Daughters-Remains-158976545.html
Birgfeld Cries Foul, Demands Daughter's Remains
June 13, 2012

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- The person or persons behind the death of Paige Birgfeld remains a mystery.

Frank Birgfeld, Paige's father, wants to obtain her remains so he can put an end to the 5-year tribulation, but he says he's being met with resistance from the Mesa County District Attorney's Office.

Since Paige Birgfeld's body was found in early March, Frank has wanted to put her remains to rest and put an end to this tragic story. However, he has been unable to do so because he cannot receive his daughter's remains from the coroner's office.

Frank claims due to some previous complications he's had with the Mesa County District Attorney's Office and Mesa County Sheriff's Office, he believes, "They're jacking around with my family."
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District Attorney Pete Hautzinger says Paige Birgfeld's remains must stay as evidence until the case is closed. He sent NewsChannel5 an email that he sent to Frank Birgfeld, explaining, "As long as there is the potential for a criminal prosecution of the person or persons deemed responsible for Paige Birgfeld's death, it is absolutely impossible for the remains to be released. An individual charged with criminal offense has an absolute right to review, inspect and confront the evidence against him or her. Any evidence which is potentially exculpatory and which has been released, lost or destroyed by the government will be fatal to the success of a criminal prosecution."
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Authorities say this is a special case. Those with the coroner's office say they were instructed by Hautzinger to keep the remains until no criminal prosecution is conceivable.

Is that normal to keep remains until they find whom to prosecute or that there will be no one to prosecute?  I don't remember that ever happening before?!

melisb, I don't recall this either.  How horrible for the father and daughters and family and friends.  Good gravy, she could be exhumed if necessary.  I know they don't like to do that, but still.

Unless there is a plan to cremate the remains.  It may be that the state wants to ensure that there is something to test should the defense push to run their own tests.  It might be a huge problem if the defense wins motions concerning not having access to potential evidence.  Just speculating here.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/birgfeld-family-wants-her-remains-back/
Birgfeld family wants her remains back
August 30, 2012

The family of a Colorado mom found dead in Delta County wants her remains back.

According to the Denver Post, Mesa County authorities say they have not released the body because they have been unable to determine the cause of death since her remains were found last March.
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http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Father-of-Paige-Birgfeld-still-seeks-closure-218461581.html
Father of Paige Birgfeld still seeks closure
August 5, 2013

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -- More than six years ago local mom Paige Birgfeld disappeared and while her body has been found, her father says he still hasn't gotten closure.

He says part of the reason is because his daughter's remains are still in the hands of officials.

In letters shared exclusively with KKCO 11 News Birgfeld asked the Mesa County Coroner for his daughter's remains, but questions why they still haven't been handed over.

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The Mesa County Coroner says he is sorry for his loss and understands what he is going through, but at this time, he agrees with the District Attorney and the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, that releasing the body would not be best because the remains are potential evidence.

Video at Link

I really wish I had been able to post information or updates on Paige's case.  Instead, all I could bring was the article about her Father trying to get her remains back from authorities.  I continue to hold hope there will be justice for Paige and her family.  Maybe sometime in the very near future there will be posts in this thread about an arrest and conviction. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/paige-birgfeld-cold-case-review_n_3781368.html
Cold Case Cops To Hunt Paige Birgfeld's Killer
August 19, 2013

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation's "cold case review team" will look for fresh clues in the death of Paige Birgfeld, a divorced mother of three who was leading a secret double-life when she disappeared six years ago, authorities said Monday.

"The Mesa County Sheriff's Office is bringing the case to the cold case review team [on] Sept. 12," CBI Deputy Director Karl Wilmes told The Huffington Post.

According to Wilmes, the new investigative team is made up of homicide experts from federal, local and state law enforcement agencies.
More...

http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Paige-Birgfeld-case-presented-in-Denver-223547151.html
Paige Birgfeld case presented in Denver
September 13, 2013

(http://i.imgur.com/upu9AiU.jpg)
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Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey, Assistant District Attorney Rich Tuttle and other Mesa County investigators joined 20 to 30 expert cold-case investigators from around the state in Denver on Thursday to present their findings on Birgfeld's disappearance.

"My educated guess is that they'll have some ideas that we think are well worth pursuing so there will be some additional investigative steps from here," Pete Hautzinger, District Attorney.

Hautzinger was briefed by the presenters and he said members asked a lot of questions throughout the presentation and believes it was a productive day.

The cold case experts will make suggestions to local investigators and Hautzinger said he expects a lot more time to pass before local authorities make any decisions on those suggestions.

Suspect Arrested In Death Of Paige Birgfeld, Mom Who Led Double Life
November 21, 2014 5:00 PM

Seven years after Paige Birgfeld, a single mother of three who lived a double life as an escort, went missing and two years after her remains were found, authorities have arrested a suspect — one of her clients.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it has taken Lester Ralph Jones, 63, into custody for Birgfeld’s murder.

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http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/11/21/suspect-arrested-in-paige-birgfeld-murder/

$2 million cash-only bond set for Paige Birgfeld's alleged killer
Updated: Tue 7:10 AM, Nov 25, 2014

Jones made his first appearance in Judge Craig Henderson's courtroom Monday where a $2 million dollar cash only bond was set for him.

Jones appeared via video in the courtroom dressed in a red jumpsuit, which signifies that he's being held in maximum security.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Rubinstein is the lead prosecutor on the case and asked Judge Henderson to consider the hefty bond citing his criminal history including three arrests made in January of 1999 for attempted murder, intimidating a witness, kidnapping and sexual assault.

Rubinstein said Jones' high risk behavior along with the chance of him leaving town if he's let go are reasons to keep him in jail with the $2 million bond.

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http://www.kjct8.com/home/headlines/283767221.html


(http://media.graytvinc.com/images/LESTER+JONES+MUG.jpg)

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