KJCT8.com - Grand Junction, Montrose - Weather, News, Sports | The search for Paige
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07/24
The search for Paige Birgfeld continues, now volunteers began searching for Paige around the Colorado River on Monday. Search coordinators also expressed concern that there are not enough volunteers to maintain the massive search. They still need your help please contact 254-1567 for more information.
07/21 The Mesa County Sheriff's Department confirms, that a man living in a home at 3072 Hill Ave. that has been searched twice, is a person of interest in the disappearance of Paige Birgfeld. Lester Ralph Jones is that person, but Sheriff's officials are also making the point today, that there are multiple other people on that list. Those other names are not being released, and neither is exactly how many people are on that list, but her two ex-husbands, who have been on the list since the beginning are still on it. The Sheriff's Department is confirming that multiple search warrants have been issued, and not necessarily just residences have been searched, since Page Birgfeld went missing more than 3 weeks ago. Now 56-year-old Lester Jones, does have a criminal record going back to 1999 involving multiple cases, which according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations records, includes a conviction of 2nd degree kidnapping and assault for one case. The Sheriff's Department won't confirm if Jones was a client of Birgfeld's escort service Models Inc. Also, Sheriff's officials say that details of any search warrants will not be released until an arrest is made. No one has been taken off the list since Paige's disappearance, including her two ex-husbands. Right now investigators are trying to confirm both of their allibies.
Person if Interest confirmed
After six days of searching for Paige Birgfeld,crews are shifting their focus this morning in hopes of finding the missing mother of three.
search coordinators say they are 99.9 percent sure that paige is not in the Whitewater area so the focus will shift back to Grand Junction.
search crews with the Jennifer and Abby recovery foundation plan to begin the new search at Canyon View Park.
07/19After four days of intensive searching there's still no sign of Paige Birgfeld. Tuesday about 50 searchers covered a large, undisclosed area.
Although Tuesday's efforts didn't turn up anything new, crews say they still have confidence they will find the missing mother of three.
Sunday and Monday's searches along parts of Highway 50 did prove successful, turning up several items believed to be Paiges, including business cards other personal belongings.
According to search coordinators the next step will be to search within the city limits of Grand Junction.
07/16Sources close to the search confirm yesterday three health cards belonging to Birgfeld and her kids, a Blockbuster rental card and personal checks were found in the same area.
07/15
Personal items of Paige Birgfeld have been found near Lands End Road on Highway 50. According to the Sheriff's Department, "Items specific to this investigation have been found in the area".
Mesa County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Teams have search the Lands End area for the past two weeks. Several items that appear to belong to Birgfeld have continually been found in the Lands End area as searchers cover and recover the ground.
During a morning briefing Sheriff Stan Hilkey told volunteers, "We need your help to determine if the items we discovered already are limited to this area or if there are more items closer to or farther away from Grand Junction that we haven't been found yet."
Organized by the Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation, the group began searching Saturday at about 7am, at the end of day the search teams canvassed 11 of the 55 targeted areas. Volunteers were split into groups, debriefed and sent out to search the five mile radius near Birgfeld's home.
The volunteer search teams cleared 11 target search areas out of a total 55 planned searches on Saturday.
The Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation may sound familiar, as they were involved in the search and recovery of John Atchley. However this search will be very different, since foul play is suspected in Paige Birgfeld's disappearance.
The volunteers were briefed in case they find something of interest, not disturbing evidence or a possible crime scene. All volunteers must be documented and whereabouts kept during the search.
The mission of the foundation is to ban together with law enforcement and community members to help in the search for any missing child. The organization was started in memory of the famous Jennifer Blagg murder case in 2001.
Paige Birgfeld, a Grand Junction mother of three was reported missing on June 30th. The car she was driving was found fully engulfed in a parking lot just miles away from her home. For more information about joining the search you can call the Jennifer And Abby Foundation at 254-1567.
