(CBS) By all accounts, 34-year old Paige Birgfeld was a devoted mother to her three young children. So when she suddenly disappeared last June, police in Grand Junction, Colorado suspected foul play.
But while police and volunteers searched for the missing mother of three, disturbing evidence of a secret life she led shifted the investigation in a totally new direction.
Did that secret life-which Paige kept hidden from her family-play a role in her disappearance?
reported by CBS.
Paige Birgfeld: The Mysterious Disappearance of an Online Escort
For the last six months, police in Grand Junction, Colo., have been working to solve the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld, a 34-year-old mother of three, who was reported missing on June 30, 2007, following a meeting with her ex-husband, Ron Biegler.
According to statements Biegler made to police, he and Paige had several contacts over the previous month to discuss the possibility of rekindling their relationship. Biegler said that on the night of Paige’s disappearance, the couple had a brief rendezvous, and at 9 p.m., he spoke with her on her cell phone as she drove through the north suburbs of Grand Junction en route to her house.
On the night of July 1, firefighters were dispatched to a motor vehicle fire in the parking lot of Walker Products SMS, at 727 23 Road. After extinguishing the blaze, investigators with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department ran the vehicle’s license tag through their computer and identified it as a 2005 Ford Focus registered to Paige Birgfeld. The burned-out vehicle revealed few clues, and police were unable to locate any sign of Paige.
In the days that followed, a group of searchers walking along U.S. 50, south of Grand Junction, found over two dozen items belonging to Paige scattered along the median. Among them were her checkbook and a Blockbuster movie-rental card. An unloaded Ruger 9mm handgun was later found in the same area, but police have yet to comment on whether the gun is related to the case.
"Nothing during the course of our investigation has led us to believe that Paige walked away from her family or that she left of her own free will," Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said in a written statement to the media. "Unfortunately, we do suspect foul play in her disappearance and the subsequent arson of her vehicle."
To her close friends and family members Paige was a successful businesswoman who lived in a million-dollar home outside of town. Everyone believed she paid for her luxurious lifestyle through her business, Grand River Acupuncture, and her part-time job as a sales consultant for the Pampered Chef, a company that markets food products, cookbooks and kitchen utensils. However, as the case evolved, investigators discovered Paige did not hold a license to perform acupuncture and that the bulk of her income came from her career as an online escort.
In her now defunct profile at NaughtyNightlife.com, Paige went by the alias "Carrie" and described herself as a Grand Junction escort with 34D-24-35 measurements. She offered in-call and out-call services, which she described as "escort, erotic massage, private dancer, groups and parties," to men, women and couples alike.
"Beautiful body and face, nice hair and teeth," the profile read. "Sensual mannerisms with a fun attitude. Tired of chopped meat showing up when you ordered Filet Mignon? Affluent clients are lavishing in delightful sessions."
Clients were able to post reviews on the Web site, and a user identified only as "Dennis" did so on June 25, just five days before Paige’s reported disappearance: "Carrie is simply a very gorgeous woman," Dennis wrote. "Very well dressed, clean (which I appreciate greatly). A little bit pricey but she explained to me that is why she is where she is because of the going rate. If you have the money she is worth every dime."
The revelations of Paige’s secret double life came as a shock to those who knew her.
Born to Frank and Suzanne Birgfeld on April 27, 1973, Paige was active in extracurricular activities all throughout high school and later attended the University of Florida, where she studied nursing. In 1995, Paige moved back to Colorado, and that same year, she married Biegler. During this time, Paige began to supplement the couple’s income working as an exotic dancer at a local club.
In 1997, Paige and Biegler divorced, and within a year, she began dating Rob Dixon, a wealthy patron of the strip club. The couple soon married, and together, they purchased a home in Grand Junction. Despite having three children together, the marriage soon fell on hard times, and according to court records from 2005, Dixon was charged with assault and child abuse but later pled the charges down to harassment. The following year, the couple divorced, and Paige was granted custody of their children. Not long thereafter, Paige and Biegler began discussing the possibility of rekindling their relationship.
After discovering Paige’s secret life, investigators focused their investigation on 56-year-old Lester Ralph Jones, a man who was allegedly a client of Paige’s escort service. Jones lives approximately 12 miles from Paige's estate, and he is employed as a repairman at an RV repair shop across the street from where Paige’s burned-out car was discovered on July 1.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Jones has a previous criminal record that includes a five-year prison sentence for a conviction on charges of first-degree assault and second-degree attempted kidnapping.
Mesa County Sheriff’s investigators have conducted two searches of Jones’ home in recent months. However, the warrants remain sealed, and what, if anything, was found remains unknown.
Paige was last seen in a blue tube top and blue jeans, driving her 2005 Ford Focus. She is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call the Mesa County Sheriff's Office at +1-970-244-3500.
Source: investigation.discovery.com via Love Source Online blog - http://lovesourceonline.blogspot.com/
