The Mysterious Disappearance of Paige Birgfeld
"Person of Interest"
On July 15, 2007, police and approximately 100 volunteers, with assistance from the Abby & Jennifer Recovery Foundation, searched the median along U.S. 50 south of Grand Junction. Within hours, they had recovered two dozen items belonging to Paige, including her Blockbuster movie-rental card and her checkbook. The items are being examined for forensic evidence.
"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. "Unfortunately, we do suspect foul play in her disappearance and the subsequent arson of her vehicle."
In the days following the initial search, Sheriff's investigators twice searched the home of 56-year-old Lester Ralph Jones in connection with Paige's disappearance. Jones and his wife, Elaine Jones, live in a house on the outskirts of Grand Junction, approximately 12 miles from Paige's home.
On July 19, 2007, KREXTV.com reported that an anonymous source close to the investigation had told them Jones had been a client of Paige's escort service. The report also noted that Paige's burning car had been found directly across the street from an RV repair shop where Jones is employed as a repairman.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Jones had a previous criminal record. In 1999, he served a five-year prison sentence for a conviction on charges of first-degree assault and second-degree attempted kidnapping. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Jones was involved in a motor vehicle chase with a former wife. Jones forced her car off the road and then ordered her at gunpoint to get into his car. During the incident, he fired two shots at a male passenger who was riding in his then-wife's car. The Delta County sheriff's department later took Jones into custody.
On July 20, 2007, Sheriff Hilkey discussed the case on the Fox News program On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. Hilkey confirmed that two searches had been conducted at the Jones' residence; however, he would not comment on what, if anything, investigators had found during those searches.
"They'd all be sealed at this point. So, unfortunately, I can't give that information," Hilkey said. "... I think in any kind of an investigation, some things, you know, are done publicly and some aren't, but it doesn't signal any change in the ambitious pace of this investigation or the determination of the people trying to solve it or find Paige."
Hilkey also said that both of Paige's ex-husbands were cooperating with investigators and their alibis were not in question.
"We believe that we know where each of them was during the time of that missing during those hours where she went missing," Hilkey said. "And frankly, there are other people, other persons of interest in this investigation that we're focusing on."