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E063: Paige Renkoski
1.5k Plays5 years ago
Paige was working on her college degree and planning a wedding when she disappeared into thin air. Can you, Sleuth Hounds, help solve one of Michigan’s longest-running missing person cases?
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Transcript
Starting a Podcast Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Sleuth Hounds. Have you ever considered creating your own podcast? Have you been inspired by listening to some of your favorites and thought, I'd love to try this out on my own? Whether it's a true crime podcast like ours, a motivational podcast, or maybe one filled with tips and strategies for those interested in the same activities you are?
00:00:20
Speaker
When Maggie and I first decided to start our podcast, we knew absolutely nothing about what podcasting would entail. But when we found that the platform Buzzsprout was one for which we didn't need any special equipment, just a computer microphone, some quiet space, and each other, we knew that this was the way to go. It is intuitive to use, fun to play around with, and so helpful in getting analytical data about our number of downloads to track trends and from where our listeners hail.
00:00:49
Speaker
Best yet, Buzzsprout is affordable, even by our teacher salary standards. Buzzsprout will get your podcasts listed on every major podcasting platform. So, what are you waiting for? Fulfill that dream of yours and start today. If you use our Coffee & Cases referral code, 709-643, linked on Facebook and in our show notes,
00:01:13
Speaker
Not only will you help support our show, but you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card after your second month on a paid plan. It's that easy. Podcasting isn't hard when you have the right partners. Join over 100,000 podcasters already using Buzzsprout to get their message out to the world. Now it's time for the world to hear what you have to say.
Safety in Modern Times
00:01:37
Speaker
I wonder if there was ever a time when you didn't have to worry about being abducted. Was there ever a time when you could walk down the street alone and not look over your shoulder to see if you were being followed? Was there a time when you didn't have to be cautious that that concerned citizen helping you fix a flat tire wasn't actually luring you into a trap to abduct you?
00:01:56
Speaker
Maybe it's because I am me, but I always check over my shoulder. I'm wary of strangers and avoid being out alone after dark when possible. At 30 years old, I try to think back and remember, when did I become like this? I mean, Allison and I are both over cautious people. I remember in college being astounded that my friends would go drinking with people they didn't know. I would look on and wonder as young college students would walk across town after dark for food.
00:02:22
Speaker
No matter how much I wanted to let go of my fear, I was never able to. Surely, I thought, as I grew older, I would be brave. But honestly, I'm still the same. Running to the mailbox after dark, calling Anthony when I leave work so I don't have to walk for my car alone, and I really don't think I'll ever change. Allison and I joke about being rule followers and party poopers, but some traits are just embedded in us.
00:02:48
Speaker
Today, we'll be talking about a fun-loving, adventure-seeking 30-year
The Disappearance of Paige Rinkowski
00:02:52
Speaker
-old. When she disappeared without a trace, evidence and theories were lacking. Despite being missing since 1990, her family continues to fight for her and hope that one day they'll find all the answers that this case has. This is the case of Paige Rinkowski.
00:03:23
Speaker
Oh.
00:03:44
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families.
00:04:03
Speaker
With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, because, as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping to keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:04:22
Speaker
All right, Allison, we have been saying all year, and I know that we're not really that far into
Life of Paige Rinkowski
00:04:28
Speaker
2021 yet. So we've been saying for 18 days. Yes. That this is the year of the sleuth hound. And today I'm calling on all of our Michigan sleuth hounds to help us solve one of Michigan's longest running cold cases. Wow. I know. I know they can do it too, so.
00:04:45
Speaker
Paige's case, while actually it was very hard to research, really pulled at my heartstrings this week because I saw myself in Paige, and I think you kind of will too. So Paige was 30, and so I'm 30 now. Paige was 30 the year I was born, but that's what's awesome. And at the time of her disappearance, she was a substitute teacher.
00:05:08
Speaker
another connection yeah and i actually you know subbed before i full time started teaching and respect to substitute teachers because it is hard so i really felt that i owed it to page to talk about her case today
00:05:24
Speaker
Paige was last seen on May 24th, 1990, so she was engaged to be married that November, and her and her fiance lived in Lansing, Michigan. Paige was working at a preschool, she was an aide there, and she was also a substitute teacher while she pursued a degree in early childhood development. So like, initially, I'm like, you go Paige, because she's 30, and is still getting this degree, so that's great.
00:05:51
Speaker
I read in several articles that she actually had plans to work with deaf students. Oh, that's great Which isn't even like I think even more special of a car I'm more admirable according to true crime files in addition to mother artists and father Carl and
00:06:06
Speaker
She had three sisters, Tammy, Michelle, and Cheryl. Her family fondly remembers her love of skateboarding, singing, and swimming, and they describe her as a tomboy with a bubbly personality. So perfect mix of every quality. I think so too. And from the research that I did, I could tell that Paige was extremely close to her family. Like when we get on in the story, you're gonna see like her mom took it upon herself.
00:06:33
Speaker
to be that constant reminding force to the police, like, hey, don't forget about my daughter, just to keep it kind of fresh. And then after her mom passed away, her page's sister actually took up that same calling to be the voice for Paige.
The Day Paige Disappeared
00:06:50
Speaker
The day that Paige disappeared, she had just dropped her mom off at the Detroit Metro Airport. And since that obviously wasn't an all-day event, Paige had plans to meet a friend for lunch that afternoon in the park.
00:07:05
Speaker
Which would be like us, we're already dressed. So you may as well make a day of it. Especially when it's COVID. I already put makeup on, so what else can I do today? We know that Paige made it to Canton to eat lunch in the park with her friend. And according to various websites, the lunch was uneventful, just two friends catching up and having a good time. So after she finishes up, Paige left to go home.
00:07:34
Speaker
and she was actually headed to her fiancee softball game and she wanted to make sure her friend remembered that she got to the game on time. Okay. So she did have a full day. Yeah. The trip from the park to her house would only take about 30 minutes and like I guess this just shows like how isolated where I grew up is but like
00:07:59
Speaker
hearing that the airport was only 30 minutes away from your house. I could not identify with that growing up. It would take you 30 minutes to get to the grocery store or the gas station. For like three hours to get to the airport. But according to Wikipedia, and I know we don't like to use Wikipedia, but it is what it is. Paige was seen between 2.30 p.m. and 2.45 at a grocery store that has since closed down on Interstate 275.
00:08:28
Speaker
So we know that she is alive and well around 245. While in the store, she bought a beer and that comes into play a little later. A single beer? Yeah, one single beer. Okay. And the clerk remembered seeing her because she was wearing quote, distinctive multicolored loose fitting flower pattern pants and a distinctive necklace. Okay. So I mean that is something that you would remember. Yes.
00:08:55
Speaker
Paige heads home after leaving the store and it's important to point out that the weekend of Paige's disappearance was actually Memorial Day weekend. So they interstate that Paige was traveling on, um, would have had tons of traffic like during the time she was traveling. Like I actually kind of looked it up because I feel like during Memorial Day, like we,
00:09:23
Speaker
Travel in Kentucky, but I don't think that it's like
00:09:27
Speaker
It's not as big as what it is in the places. Yeah. Cause they made it sound like in Michigan, like everybody's going north on Memorial Day weekend. Maybe because, um, cause Memorial Day is May. And so the only reason it's big, like for our family is that's usually the first weekend we go to the lake and since you're in Michigan and you've got all the, I'm going to assume that that's what it is. And that's why they would go north to all of the, like the lakes and stuff. Cause that's usually like,
00:09:56
Speaker
big day at the lake, everybody's out there. I guess that's true because summer's starting. Right. That's true. So there's actually like entire forums on TripAdvisor dedicated to like the best time to travel, like during the day, like when you should leave to avoid traffic. Oh wow. Like all of this. Those are things we don't have to worry about here. And so Paige would have been on the interstate during like a peak travel time because
00:10:23
Speaker
that like online I read most people are either gonna leave like really early in the morning to beat the traffic, which they don't, or they're gonna leave around the time that we've last seen Paige, like around three or four. So it is unsurprising when calls start to come in to the local police station about an abandoned car parked on the side of Interstate 96.
Investigation Challenges
00:10:44
Speaker
I mean bound to happen there's all kinds of traffic. Tires and people are calling. But do remember this is pre-cell phone.
00:10:52
Speaker
oh okay that's right i mean i'm sure people i don't know i'm sure people had like a mobile phone in 1990 but it's not like today right it was like the size of your car yeah so after 6 p.m and some reports actually say 7 30 p.m
00:11:12
Speaker
Police finally go to check out the car that people have been calling about. That's stranded alongside the interstate. Which I get that. I mean, that's not like a priority. Also, I'm sure they're super busy. Exactly. So when they arrive, they find an abandoned Oldsmobile. And what I'm going to tell you, Allison, I think you will find it odd that the car was not processed as a crime scene. Like it blew my mind. And it still baffles current investigators on the case today.
00:11:42
Speaker
So, in one article that I've read, Lisa Rose Church actually said in this article, today's investigators are quick to note that the original investigators did what they could with the information they had available. However, there were setbacks from the beginning. First, Frayer, who's a member of the Livingston County Sheriff's Department, and he works on like their cold case team, said the spot where investigators found the 1986
00:12:08
Speaker
silver Oldsmobile that Paige was driving was not processed as a crime scene because at the time it was merely considered an abandoned car and had been tagged as such by an officer. Okay, so basically they're saying the officer shows up, it's not a priority, the car's on the side of the road, slaps that like orange sticker or whatever color sticker it is on it and then calls a tow truck. Like they're not looking in it because why would they think to?
00:12:37
Speaker
I mean I have but yes like what you're saying right yes but then when I get on so they should they should have found the car they should have been like this is weird okay so he goes on to say they tow it we've got a general idea of where the exact scene was but we're not exactly sure they didn't photograph the scene or do a crime scene sketch because at the time it was an abandoned car and that's how it was treated it wasn't until later they knew what they had
00:13:04
Speaker
So you know what that reminds me of? That reminds me of Brooklyn Farthing's case and the couch.
00:13:11
Speaker
And he calls and says, I have a fire at my house. The firefighters show up, they put the couch out. You know what I mean? They didn't realize or like it didn't click that, oh my gosh, only the couch is burning. Nothing else is burning and this house has no electricity in it. This is weird. Right, to think, oh, this could be a crime scene. So they treated it like a fire. And again, I can't blame them, but
00:13:35
Speaker
in hindsight yeah then they should have been like oh my gosh so i guess something similar is about to go down yes so when they find the car it is completely undamaged and the doors are unlocked okay so like immediately i'm like you know i would be expecting to roll up and there'd be a flat tire and like this person has just
00:13:59
Speaker
walked to the nearby exit to call for help and they've left their car there. But obviously that's not the case. So this is perfect working condition. Yes. Yes. And so like on a more illogical note, I was like, okay, maybe she like had her lipstick out and she dropped it. And so she pulls over so she can get whatever she's dropped. Okay. And maybe she had to step out of the car and accidentally locked herself out of the car. But it's unlocked. But it's unlocked. So that's not true. Okay. Can I say something? Okay. I don't know why.
00:14:29
Speaker
I would do this, but I totally would. If I'm leaving my car somewhere, especially if I'm leaving it on the side of the road that's heavily traveled right now, even if I had nothing of value in my car, I would not leave it unlocked. Yeah, I would lock the door. Absolutely. I locked the door in my car parked in the driveway of my subdivision. I don't think hot wiring cars as easy as movies make it look, but I still wouldn't want to give somebody an opportunity. Exactly.
00:14:56
Speaker
So what's even more strange is the fact that Paige's car was idling with the keys still in the ignition. Okay, no. Lights and radio on. No, and they had it towed? And they towed it. Okay, yeah. Which means they had to turn the car off. Yeah, nope, nope. See, right there, they should have said, okay, there's something wrong. Because calls came in at like, what did I say? 3.30? Yeah.
00:15:24
Speaker
And they didn't get to it until hours later? Yeah, and it's running by the side of the car or the road. Yeah, yes. So not only is the radio on, lights are on, the beer can is open and it's like in the cup holder. Her shoes were left in the car.
00:15:44
Speaker
Her purse had her wallet inside and her wallet was full of money, all left in the car. Personal papers, all left in the car. But Paige is nowhere. Okay, yeah. You're right. They should have come up on this car that's running, looked inside, and they know what's been there for hours because they're responding to a call that came in hours ago.
00:16:08
Speaker
have seen that someone's purse with a wallet full of money and props to all these people who drove by and did it. Yeah, good job. It's lessons in the world. Being honest, they should have known that something was wrong. Or even what person walks. Run the plates and see who it belongs to and call them. Well, they do that and I'll touch on that. Okay. But like my first thing is, I mean,
00:16:33
Speaker
Again, not to be stereotypical of Eastern Kentucky, but I never wear shoes. I go barefoot all the time. I would not, however, go barefoot on the side of the interstate. Nope. Nope. On pavement? No. Yeah. No. So unlike many of the cases we cover where we have tons of theories and tons of evidence, in Paige's case, we really don't.
00:16:56
Speaker
There are three prevalent theories as to what happened to her. And I thought I would talk briefly about those and then dive into the evidence before we kind of make predictions about what we think has happened on the case. Because I'm like... You know that's my favorite part. I know.
00:17:12
Speaker
So I want us to go in knowing the theories police have and then talk about the evidence and then we'll give our two cents because that's what we do and it matters to us. Officers seem to agree on these three theories. So did someone she knew somehow get her to stop by the side of the road and they abducted her? Is theory number one?
00:17:37
Speaker
So versus just like took her somewhere. Oh yeah because we don't know where she is. Exactly. Okay so someone she knew. Yes so did she saw for someone she knew? Was it a staged like accident slash disappearance? Why would you leave your car running? Yeah.
00:17:55
Speaker
Did someone impersonate a police officer to get her to stop and abduct her from there? Now that is an interesting theory. I know. And I'm going to talk about that theory a little more. So all three of these theories hold some credence. So after we talk about the evidence and like the eyewitness accounts that we have, I'm going to be interested to hear what you have to say.
00:18:21
Speaker
Cause I mean, okay, I know I'm jumping ahead here, but if she had open container of alcohol in the car and maybe if somebody was impersonating an officer and they just happened to pull her over and then they're like prime opportunity, get out of the car, you know, you need to do a sobriety test or whatever. I mean. It's true when I hadn't thought about that, but that's a good connection. So here are things we do know. Okay.
00:18:49
Speaker
Paige's car was not investigated until well after six. Paige was last seen leaving the store around 2.45. So what happened in that chunk of time? Like three hours. That's a lot of time for something to happen. Yes. According to Cold Case, Valorville, and I really hope that I'm pronouncing that correctly. Y'all know me with the names.
00:19:14
Speaker
The day witnesses say they saw a page stopped on the westbound shoulder of I-96 about a half mile from the Fowlerville exit was at 3.30 p.m. So again, like if your car's broken down, you're only half a mile away from an exit and you're gonna know that. But it wasn't broken down.
00:19:33
Speaker
So weird. And I feel like if you're meeting a friend, why would you be like, I'll meet you at half my way from this exit. Like, why not just meet? Wait, wasn't she supposed to go to her fiancé softball game? Yeah, so she's supposed to be on her way to the softball game. So this article goes on to say, she was spotted speaking with two unidentified African American males.
00:19:54
Speaker
Okay.
00:20:19
Speaker
A motorist saw a page with this individual at approximately 3.30 p.m. So we know at 3.30, she's alive because she's been seen by the side of the road. And he becomes concerned because he passes the vehicle in the exact same location like several hours later. When police finally arrive on the scene, they're able to determine who the car belonged to because they do, like you said, they ran the tags.
00:20:45
Speaker
Good move, finally. Yes, and they are able to figure out that the car belonged to Paige's mother. All right. The issue is, and Michelle, remember Paige's sister. Oh, she took her to the airport. Yes. Oh, man. And she tells Dateline, well, they were in the tags and found out the car belonged to my mother. So they called her home and left a message. The issue is,
00:21:11
Speaker
The mom is at the airport because she flew to Georgia to visit Michelle. So the voicemail sits on her answering machine and heard. Oh my gosh, for days. Yeah, for a couple of days is it. And you know, the first 48 hours, that's the most crucial. And now that's going to be gone. Yes.
00:21:30
Speaker
So Michelle says her and her mother grew concerned when they hadn't heard from Paige since she dropped their mom off at the airport. And in that interview with Dateline, Michelle says, quote, we didn't have cell phones back then. So when we had not heard from Paige, we called her fiance, Steve, and asked him to go check the messages at my mom's house. And she said, again, that to Dateline.
00:21:53
Speaker
And so that is when they finally put the pieces together that Paige is missing. Oh, okay. It's when Steve goes to check the voicemail because then they have the voicemail from the police saying that, you know, we have your car. Right. They don't know where Paige has been.
00:22:12
Speaker
so we know she's been driving, we know the car's been towed, we don't know where she's at. Right. If you know what I think is weird about that whole sighting though is I feel like, I mean unless- Oh I hope you say what I think you're gonna say. What if-
00:22:25
Speaker
I don't know if I am or not, but if I'm on a busy interstate, and somebody's trying to kidnap me, I'm running out in traffic, I'm gonna scream, like wave my arms. I would rather die than be abducted. I would rather get murdered. Because you don't know what they're gonna do to you. So yeah, that just doesn't sit right with me. And there's more that I will have to say about being abducted on the side of the interstate.
00:22:55
Speaker
when we talk about theories. So it wasn't until police met with Steve that Saturday that they decided to process the car as a crime scene and talk to eyewitnesses and finally investigate Paige as like a missing person. So I wonder if they were assuming because the car was running, but see the purse in it doesn't make any sense to me. Right because if she like
00:23:19
Speaker
needed something and had to walk to the gas station she would need money. Because I was I was gonna say maybe they processed it like as if somebody had potentially stolen the car and they left it abandoned and then that's why they're calling the owner of the car but knowing that it was running which I guess if somebody had stolen it I don't know if that's called. But they would have left money in the car. Right exactly.
00:23:41
Speaker
So that doesn't fit either. So according again to that Rose Church article, some eyewitness reports indicate that the second vehicle was parked in front of Paige's car, but the majority of witnesses report seeing it behind Paige's car, which again will be important when we talk about theories. And again, if somebody's behind me, I'm driving off. Right. But if it's a police car, it would pull up behind you while in front of you. It's true.
00:24:08
Speaker
So those witnesses report that Paige and the unidentified male were seen standing and talking between two vehicles, which again makes sense if... Okay, we're jumping again, but again makes sense if it is someone impersonating a police officer. Okay, okay. So...
00:24:26
Speaker
As time has gone on, people have actually described at least five different vehicles that they say were was like behind Paige's car. Are they anywhere close like in terms of what they look like? No. Okay. One was a white pickup truck. All right. A red cargo van. A blue truck that had like an emblem on the side. But the majority of people have described a maroon minivan.
00:24:55
Speaker
Okay, so at least there's a majority. But none of those are similar. I mean, maybe the red cargo van and the maroon minivan. Maybe.
00:25:03
Speaker
Police think, though, that people have, over time, just maybe started confusing cars they saw abandoned. Oh, with what they saw? With what they saw then. Okay, that makes a lot of sense to me. Police are able to piece together a sort of kind of timeline, and they determined that Paige went missing around four, so shortly after that motorist's report is in her at 3.30, with the man and her talking anima with animation with the man. Oh, okay, right, right, okay.
00:25:31
Speaker
So for the purpose of today, since that's what police agree upon, we're going to say that Paige was talking to two African American men near a maroon van. Okay. Some eyewitnesses say that the man was leaning over Paige, resting his hand on the van, which is creepy. Yeah, that's kind of aggressive. Yeah.
00:25:52
Speaker
police are able to determine that this was likely true though because according again to that Rose Church article police found several fingerprints on the outside of the car and they have also which by the way none have been identified oh man I was gonna say yes fingerprint
00:26:10
Speaker
They also have a palm print. So like if he was leaning over the car. But again, no match. And in that same article, Freyer, who I quoted earlier, said, quote, we do have a pretty good set of palm prints that could be left like someone is leaning on the car. And we have some witnesses who say they might have seen someone actually doing that. That's one of our better pieces of physical evidence. The problem is some places didn't take palm prints when someone was arrested.
00:26:40
Speaker
Oh, I didn't even think about that because usually they just take fingerprints. Yeah. Maybe that's something that they need to do. They do it. I don't think I've ever had a palm print done. We have to have, not that we've been arrested as teachers, we have to get, we have to register our fingerprints with the state. And so, and I'm horrible at it. Oh, I know. They'll like, you know, take your finger and that's,
00:27:04
Speaker
and my hands sweat and the ink won't stick like I'm talking about it my hands are sweating and the ink won't stick to my finger and when I started at my new county I had to do it twice because the first one they said they couldn't read them so then I had to do it again and it's horrible but then when we went to Washington I think I've said this before
00:27:25
Speaker
Oh, when you visited the FBI, yeah. And it's like digital now. Oh, now that's cool. And the FBI has their fingerprints, not that it matters, because I don't commit crimes. We are real followers, yeah. But I've never had my poem print. But that's interesting, because there have been several cases where I feel like... That would be... Yeah.
00:27:41
Speaker
Maybe that's why when they start going everywhere. I know. And that really is it. So we have a few fingerprints upon print and eyewitness accounts. And fingerprints and palm prints don't match anyone. And eyewitness accounts are like notoriously fallible. Like they're missing. We have nothing. So I want to talk about the theories behind her disappearance.
Theories and Speculations
00:28:04
Speaker
All right. So remember that theory one is that she saw someone she knew, pulled over to speak to them, and was abducted.
00:28:11
Speaker
Okay. Okay. I find this hard to believe. I do too. And I'm going to tell you why. So if I'm being honest, I actually find, like you said, a lot of eyewitness accounts hard to believe because I feel like our brain is so much smarter than like what we give it credit for. I think it tricks us a lot of the time, but let's pretend like you are driving down the interstate.
00:28:40
Speaker
I don't go 70 miles per hour on the interstate.
00:28:44
Speaker
especially if there's cars around me that are going the same speed as me, I'm doing faster than that. On a holiday weekend, I could only assume people are speeding. So if that's the case, Paige is likely driving faster than the allotted speed limit. So how would she have seen someone she knew and somehow communicated to them to pull under? Because remember, this is pre-cell phone. Unless this person's pretending like they had a flat tire and Paige sees them,
00:29:14
Speaker
and pulls over but again I just feel like that is hard to orchestrate and especially if she has a place to be right if she's gonna go to the softball game like she has a place where she's headed right then it doesn't really make
00:29:32
Speaker
sense, I guess, that she would, I don't know. And I mean, think about too, like how many times have you passed like a vehicle and they're changing a tire on the side of the interstate? Oh yeah, it happens all the time. You pass so quickly. Right. What do you notice? It's like it registers in your head that they were changing a tire after you've already passed too.
00:29:51
Speaker
So how am I supposed to take time to notice like... Oh, that's my friend. Yeah. She was standing beside a maroon fan. He was leaned over her. He was like pulling her by the elbow. Like how do you have enough time to see all that? Right. Unless there was a lot of traffic. That's true. Because then like they could be going slower even at standstill. Which if that's the case and someone's trying to kid that me,
00:30:14
Speaker
Again, Danny can run in front of their car. You don't have to worry about getting shot when you jump in some of the car, but not about being hit by the car. So Theory 2 is the stage disappearance, and this one I think makes even less sense.
00:30:34
Speaker
So again, and I know I've quoted this article a lot, but she had a lot of good information. The Rose Church article Freyr said that this staged incident has quote, some validity, but that they don't have enough evidence to really support the theory entirely.
00:30:52
Speaker
But why would she, she's getting married in six months. She's close with her mom. She obviously calls her all the time because they were worried when they hadn't heard from her in like the hours after she dropped her mom off at the airport. That's true. You know what I mean? And so that just seems. Well, I think that they said this because of two things. So one, Paige had moved a fairly large sum of money into her checking account.
00:31:19
Speaker
But again, you're getting married and that's expensive. Deposits are expensive. It could have been paying for photography or whatever. And it's expensive. Like, I mean, you're dropping $2,000 for flowers. So that to me is totally explainable. The second thing is that
00:31:39
Speaker
Family and friends told investigators that Paige and Steve were actually having some like relationship issues around the time that she disappeared. But like, I don't think there would be any issue that would make me run away. Yeah, me neither. Like just end. Yeah, you're not married, just break up. So, okay. Maybe I'm being very,
00:32:08
Speaker
I don't know. I don't know what word I want to use. But has there been a theory that Steve had something to do with it? Well Steve actually spoke with police several times and each time they question him he's cleared of any involvement. Okay. Okay. Because I was thinking
00:32:30
Speaker
Obviously you never want to have to go there to question and yet that's generally in terms of crime Who police need to look at first, so that's good to know So yeah, I don't think there's anything there that indicates that she would want to like run away from her family Also, and that she had like no major travel plans No plans like leave the country. So what could have happened to her, right? I
00:32:57
Speaker
Which brings us to theory three. And that is that Page was pulled over by a person impersonating a police officer. See, I like this theory. Which is a lot of peace. Yes. As soon as you said it, I was like, oh, yes, that could be it. And you're going to say that even more because according to the Charlie Project, three unsolved abductions slash murders of young women occurred in the late 1980s in the general area from which Page vanished.
00:33:25
Speaker
pattern. So at the same time there are multiple incidents of people impersonating police officers and showing fake badges to motorists to get them to stop. Which, well again, gives more credence to this theory. But we talked about it. You can call 911, at least I've heard I've never done it. You can call 911 and you can say,
00:33:48
Speaker
Yes, I am on whatever road. I'm being pulled over by an officer. I just wanted to make sure that it's safe to pull over. Except mom would be like, I just passed the Burger King and I have no idea what the road is and I'm on. I turned left to the Burger King. Track my phone. Turn my phone on.
00:34:08
Speaker
I guess like you said this one I think just makes the most sense and especially when I read that Paige's father actually had law enforcement experience so she would have and this was a quote from an article like respected the badge. Okay I mean that makes sense that makes a lot of sense.
00:34:27
Speaker
just think this one it just fits. And again if that's kind of what she grew up with then yeah there would be like a natural trust of someone who is an officer. Yes 100% agree. So I do want to bring up a few things that happened in this investigation like directly after and then over the past several years. Okay. So again according to the
00:34:53
Speaker
Rose Church article. About six months after Page disappeared, investigators received a letter with a map enclosed.
00:35:02
Speaker
which I think is weird. And the letter read, the information may be a red herring. However, I have recently come into some information about Paige that may or may not be true. I've tried to verify as much of this information as I could and have found many of the details to be true. The author continues to say that the map is a supposed route taken by her abductors and the letter ends unsigned saying, thank you for your attention to this.
00:35:31
Speaker
Okay, so which tells me in my mind, so I go analyze it. Either this is someone who has heard
00:35:41
Speaker
this story, right, has heard someone tell a story about Paige's abduction. Or they're doing like kind of what we're doing. Right. And it scared themselves, which is why they wouldn't sign the note. Or since there were multiple potential perpetrators, it could be one of them who is now having a guilty conscience and
00:36:07
Speaker
Yeah, I actually read there were six total suspect sketches. That's a lot. But only three men. Hmm. I know. Again, I mean, again, maybe because you're going so fast. Right, right. But what they, we'll get back to the letter because it's like, why this long? Right. So Paige's case was actually reopened in the late 1990s because police do end up saying that this is a homicide.
00:36:37
Speaker
Okay. Well, good. And they've never found the body, but they do say it's a homicide. Which I guess would be technically hard to do because there's no crime scene. Right. Yeah.
00:36:50
Speaker
I know. You should see Allison's face. Like I can see the police turning. Right. Because there's no blood. There's no sign of struggle. There's no... We just have those eyewitnesses and her vehicle. And even then they didn't see the men actually do anything to her other than potentially walk with her. Yeah.
00:37:14
Speaker
So in August of 1990, a United Press international report speculated that a body floating 500 feet north of like an arbor, that was so hard for me to say, just to have people in Wisconsin, was paged, but that actually turned out to be false. So that's our first, like, false. Right, false lead. Yes.
00:37:38
Speaker
And then again, according to the Charlie Project, an unidentified inmate in a Michigan prison was named as a suspect in Page's case in May of 2001. So we're 11 years.
Suspects and Leads
00:37:50
Speaker
post her initial. The man was in prison for carjacking and his victim was a young woman and the crime apparently occurred only weeks after Paige's disappearance. So police kind of speculated that they may have been related and they interviewed the suspect several times and believed that he was one of the men that spoke with Paige before she went missing but or could have been one of the men like in the car but wasn't actually like
00:38:19
Speaker
Person that like abducted her right he took a lie detector test and passed so he was eliminated as a suspect which again we talked about makes no sense No, because like you can't use life taking detection tests in court so it's proof of guilt So how are you using it as proof of innocence? Yes, it makes no sense, right? But I
00:38:40
Speaker
We don't make those rules. That's a story for another day. Yeah, that's a soapbox for another day. So the Rose Church article said that in May of 2002 the Associated Press reported that police quote identified two suspects in connection with Paige's disappearance. One of those suspects was in prison at the time. The other was 17 at the time of Paige's disappearance and he actually failed a polygraph test but I couldn't find like what happened
00:39:09
Speaker
because of that. Right. That was just kind of the end of that lead. In 2011, authorities began to search a pond in Handy Township using ground-penetrating radar, which we talked about in another case that we covered. That's right. Because you said you had to ask Anthony a question about it. Yeah, because Anthony knows way more things about birds than we should know. It was a woman who could have been buried in like a parking lot structure. Yeah. Interesting.
00:39:37
Speaker
But nothing turns up from that. Like a woman had reported seeing a pair of cement covered boots around the time of Paige's disappearance, so they used this ground penetrating radar, but nothing comes of it. It wasn't until November 2011 that using the map they received from this letter,
00:39:57
Speaker
and I don't even remember when.
Overlooked Clues
00:40:00
Speaker
What took you so long that the FBI, state, and local police search a property in Conway Township. So they even bring in cadaver dogs, but there are no remains found on this property. So I just looked it back up, and it was six months after Paige's disappearance that they got that. And they're not looking it up until 2011. Wow.
00:40:27
Speaker
Maybe they're busy. But here's a question that I don't know. So obviously I've told you how much I'm in awe of the cadaver dogs and what they're able to do and the ability that they have. But my question to you is this, because it had been so long between
00:40:52
Speaker
pages disappearance and them actually searching this property? You know what I mean? Because like, yeah, if she disappears in 1990, right? And they're not searching it until 2011. That's 21 years. Let's say, I guess here's my question. What if the remains used to be there?
00:41:17
Speaker
But then we're moved someplace else. Does the ground lose the scent? Like if the remains aren't there anymore? Like how long does the scent remain in there? Right. Plus I feel like the weather would affect that. I would think so too. Erosion of the soil.
00:41:37
Speaker
And so I guess I'm wondering if they had actually investigated the map when they had received it, would we still be talking about her case today? That's true. So, wondering minds want to know. We have a question for you guys. Yeah. So if you know anything about cadaver dogs, how long does a scent stay in a certain area? Particularly if the remains have been moved.
00:42:06
Speaker
So there you go, because last week, was it last week? Or a week before last that we issued the wandering minds want to know about the lawyer, like client confidentiality and lying when you're, like you know your client's gonna lie. And we actually had a sleuth hound, Miss Tracy. She messaged me back with a very good answer about that. And it basically, the answer is it depends. Yeah, basically.
00:42:35
Speaker
so all about the wording right so that's right it's all about the wording of the questions for sure yes and that same article it cites how investigators dug four holes in one spot in the 7700 block of sober road and conway township where cadaver dogs indicated a possible presence of human remains oh but again that was done successful
00:43:01
Speaker
Despite all of these attempts, police have ruled, like I said, her death a homicide and now wait for the right pieces to fall into place so Paige can be found in her case solved.
00:43:12
Speaker
So I feel like we, as we went, kind of talked about each one of the theories. But just again, Allison, I want to know what your theory is. Okay, I would say of all the theories, I'm more inclined to believe that it was someone impersonating an officer. Only because, as I mentioned before, here Paige has an open container of alcohol in the car.
00:43:42
Speaker
And like getting out, having to do something like a sobriety test would be a reason to ask a young woman to get out of the car. Again, if I have someone dressed as an officer, then I'm not gonna run out away from them in front of traffic because then I'm gonna get arrested. I'm gonna get hit by a car and then arrested. And probably taste. Yeah, so I'm out on that. But,
00:44:10
Speaker
My hang up on that theory is that we have so many eyewitnesses, and I know we talk about the questionability of the eyewitness counts, and they're seeing all kinds of different stuff. But I didn't hear a single one of them say that they saw someone in an officer's uniform, or a police car. And I don't think, I mean, I know police are undercover, but a maroon minivan?
00:44:34
Speaker
Right. Are you that undercover police officers? Is that something we can know? Yeah, because
00:44:43
Speaker
Well, I just, I feel like there would have been some indication that this was an officer. Yeah. And so that's why, and why would the, I don't know, I would think that the officer would say, you know, please shut off your car or whatever. I don't, and would have asked for your license. Yeah. And her wallet was in the car. I didn't, I did not read if like, I'm assuming if they didn't take the money, they didn't take her drop. Like why would you take her drop? Right. That's true. So,
00:45:12
Speaker
I guess that's where I'm torn on it, but I don't think that she would have run away. I don't know what kind of foul play was involved, but I definitely think there's foul play. Agreed. Paige's family have not given up hope. Her mother spent the remainder of her life fighting to find justice for Paige and to bring peace to her family. Since her mother's death, Paige's sister, Michelle, has taken over this role of constant reminder to the police that her sister is still missing.
00:45:41
Speaker
Quote, since my mother passed away a year and a half ago, you know someone's got to be the squeaky wheel, Michelle
Family's Ongoing Quest
00:45:47
Speaker
said. We keep in touch with authorities pretty regularly. We have to keep the wheel turning even though there's not a lot of new information. People still call in after all these years. It's shocking to me how many people still call in after all this time.
00:46:01
Speaker
and how many people, especially with social media now, are following the case. People have moved, people have died along the way, people have retired. Finding some of these people who were interviewed early on is a little tricky. We're urging our investigators to start over, she told Dateline. When there's a missing person, it's different now than 30 years ago. There's DNA and different technical things that you couldn't do 30 years ago, end quote.
00:46:29
Speaker
There have been more than 1,000 tips called into police, and billboards directed to bring awareness to Paige's disappearance, and despite all of that, this case is still cold. In an interview with Rose Church, Freyer said, Well, we still believe there's someone out there who knows. It's time for them to do the right thing, and it's time for them to come forth and tell what they know. This family and this young lady deserve justice."
00:46:54
Speaker
I empathize with Paige because I understand how it feels to finally be figuring life out. At 30, you seem to finally have figured out how to paddle through life and I can't begin to understand how anyone would rip away someone's life and destroy their family. Paige was adventurous, fun-loving, and trusting. She was loved by her entire family.
00:47:16
Speaker
They've been wandering long enough. It's time we bring them peace. According to the Charlie Project, Paige was last seen in a white silk blouse, baggy silk pants with a multicolored floral pattern and a long beaded necklace. Paige is a Caucasian female with blonde hair, blue eyes.
00:47:34
Speaker
Paige has a surgical scar on her right leg, a long surgical scar on the inside of her right arm, and a scar on her right elbow. Paige has had two surgical screws inserted into her left knee and her right knee has been replaced. A photo of Paige in these clothes will be posted to our social media page, as well as a suspect sketch and car photos.
00:47:56
Speaker
Michigan Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $2,500 for any information about Page's disappearance. Anyone with information on the disappearance of Page is asked to contact Deputy Investigator Robert J. Getchman of the Livingston County Sheriff's Department at 517-546-2400.
00:48:19
Speaker
or directly at 517-540-7880. You can also text a tip to investigators at 517-546-TIPS. You can also email investigators at coldcasedips.com.
00:48:38
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
00:49:08
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.