Found Deceased AL - Paighton Houston, 29, left bar with 2 men, Birmingham, 20 Dec 2019 #2

[Momof4RN]

Not at all unusual. It is not a crime for an adult to go MIA. Until they have a reason to believe that she is in danger, or that anything other than her leaving wherever she was on her own, there is not much they can do. As for the rumor and speculation, it is of no concern to LE, how much the public speculates. I have only seen LE statement that the information on the report came from the family. I have not seen any statement by LE other than they were conducting interviews, that says the co workers story to them initially was the same as it was to her parents. All information that we can confirm, looks to come second hand from family via the missing persons report. We don't know if this is the same story, the co worker told LE, or if she said "hey, thats what i think i say" We don't know if the co worker erased the text, or if the text is even legit. either way, there is not much LE can do with the co worker, until they can verify if in fact there is a crime.

Hmm so far I have yet to follow a case here on WS where an adult female intentionally went MIA. Hoping this case would be a first for me.

 

[hokeechic]

still trying to catch up on the threads-- but wanted to post this in case it hasn't been already....

Police investigate possible kidnapping caught on dramatic doorbell camera video

for some reason, this lady reminded me of Paighton.... I think b/c of the mention that Paighton had ripped jeans... i doubt it's her, especially b/c this is in Las vegas, but you never know!

either way, praying for both of these ladies...

MOO

 

[BOSCOE]

Well call me naive but I truly believe LE knows where this is leading and they are on it. Small snippets here and there leaked for pressure. I also believe warrants have been issued for phone records of more than one person at PH place of employment. LE owes the public nothing unless there is a threat to said public. Period.

JMHO

 

[JusMeJim]

I read this on a public forum that anyone can join. If it’s not acceptable, please delete.

I don't recall if that has been posted on here or not, but it's been posted and reposted 1000 times just about everywhere that is talking about PH.

 

[Nancy19XX]

still trying to catch up on the threads-- but wanted to post this in case it hasn't been already....

Police investigate possible kidnapping caught on dramatic doorbell camera video

for some reason, this lady reminded me of Paighton.... I think b/c of the mention that Paighton had ripped jeans... i doubt it's her, especially b/c this is in Las vegas, but you never know!

either way, praying for both of these ladies...

MOO

Looks like they found the woman from the doorbell camera and arrested a man. Very shocking video!

I hope that folks in the Birmingham area have checked their cameras for any trace of PH. You never know! MOO

ETA link of suspect caught on that video Suspect arrested, victim found from kidnapping seen on doorbell video

 

[sraybella]

still trying to catch up on the threads-- but wanted to post this in case it hasn't been already....

Police investigate possible kidnapping caught on dramatic doorbell camera video

for some reason, this lady reminded me of Paighton.... I think b/c of the mention that Paighton had ripped jeans... i doubt it's her, especially b/c this is in Las vegas, but you never know!

either way, praying for both of these ladies...

MOO

OMG. That’s terrible and difficult to watch.

Fortunately, they’ve identified both the suspect and victim in this case, as the article states, “The identity of the victim was not released, but she was found and is safe, police said.”

 

[chili367]

The whole situation is touchy. I don't believe LE has PH's phone records. They would need her permission. As of yet, they are not even sure their is a crime. LE can't just go around getting anyone's records. All we know that they have is a missing persons report filed by the family based on information from a co worker. Information thus far, if in fact that was the story, can not be verified. Other than asking the public to help locate her, there is not much LE can do. Even if the text is true and correct, it does not say, " I have been kidnapped" It does not say who I am with, how we are traveling, or where we currently are. It does not say anything that would implicate someone in criminal activity. Shocking, yes, on a personal level. How she felt, does not mean that someone was making her feel that way. We have absolutely no context. I wish the best to her family, but without more information, I'm afraid there is not much more LE can or will do, to find her.

Good points. I do not know the particulars of Alabama law for these kind of situations. However, given what has been learned, especially if the primary witness is truly changing their story, I think a smart DA would have a chance at getting some leeway with a judge.

 

[ChuckInHouston]

well, I believe (going based off what I hear is on facebook) IF the parents have PROOF the friends story has changed, and she is technically the last one we KNOW saw PH physically (leaving out the story of the 2 mystery men) that would leave plenty of room for "probable cause" and leave the door open for them to get a warrant to look into the "friend" and search not only phone records but her home as that's the location PH was prior to the bar. They will want to find any and everything they can.
Also being the ONLY person to be in contact with the individual (as far as we know PH sent the text) that's more than enough room to look into the friend because unless she has physically shown her phone to LE or the parents they need to validate that. Yes they can do that through PH's phone records HOWEVER they will want to see where the friends phone was located when she received it due to her statement of "I was asleep"

Hmm so far I have yet to follow a case here on WS where an adult female intentionally went MIA. Hoping this case would be a first for me.

Just to be clear, I am not implying that she went MIA, just that LE has to consider that this may be the case. We also do not know her history. im not talking about last week, but years past. Was this at any point routine for her to go missing at times? I truly hope she makes it home safe regardless of where she is. I' m just playing LE's advocate here as you really have to view it through a LE lens. If at any time in her past she has done this, they are much less likely to go wild looking. Also, to have probable cause, you must first have a crime. Judges do not grant warrants, so LE can go looking for a crime. We would all love to know where she is. Actually, as long as no one has hurt her, i dont really care where she has been. I hope for the family, she is found soon. I cant imagine their anguish. Maybe some info will come through soon.

 

[UnderTheSouthernCross]

Yes. That's why I believe the co-worker. Why create a scenario that could be so easily disproved.

Because the "co-worker" is not that clever.

 

[bestill]

Not at all unusual. It is not a crime for an adult to go MIA. Until they have a reason to believe that she is in danger, or that anything other than her leaving wherever she was on her own, there is not much they can do. As for the rumor and speculation, it is of no concern to LE, how much the public speculates. I have only seen LE statement that the information on the report came from the family. I have not seen any statement by LE other than they were conducting interviews, that says the co workers story to them initially was the same as it was to her parents. All information that we can confirm, looks to come second hand from family via the missing persons report. We don't know if this is the same story, the co worker told LE, or if she said "hey, thats what i think i say" We don't know if the co worker erased the text, or if the text is even legit. either way, there is not much LE can do with the co worker, until they can verify if in fact there is a crime.

BBM - Didn't LE say they consider her to be in danger?

 

[UnderTheSouthernCross]

If the "friend's" story is a lie, it should be pretty easy for law enforcement to figure that up. Everyone in that group would need to be lying, and they'd all have to give the same sequence of events in their statements. As we have heard none of them, we have to assume that the original story is accurate.

Strongly disagree, "(a)s we have heard none of them" the original story has NO CORROBORATION, and therefore we can make NO assumptions on its accuracy at all. It's just hearsay at this point. I don't believe we have heard anything from anybody else allegedly there that evening.

 

[Van Helsing]

If something like this happens within my family I would have to consider hiring a private investigator, maybe even before going to the police / getting it in the media. Using a PI might increase the possibility of getting the loved one back alive. Also, LE has to worry about prosecution, which sometimes results in an conflict of interest.

 

[Cgrego44]

I have yet to see it was even a fact the girl was even at this bar? Was she even there ?

 

[Momma2cam]

I' m just playing LE's advocate here as you really have to view it through a LE lens. If at any time in her past she has done this, they are much less likely to go wild looking. Also, to have probable cause, you must first have a crime. Judges do not grant warrants, so LE can go looking for a crime. We would all love to know where she is. Actually, as long as no one has hurt her, i dont really care where she has been. I hope for the family, she is found soon. I cant imagine their anguish. Maybe some info will come through soon.

RSBM & BBM- This is my concern. I'm just hoping that they may have evidence of a crime that we (the public) are unaware of.
ETA: fixed broken quote

 

[Jaydee0158]

BBM - Didn't LE say they consider her to be in danger?

yes!

 

[bwt42]

Video of SS leaving the bar with 2 men was released within the 1st week she went missing. Also released within the first week was info from LE that they had identified the 2 men and they had been questioned.

The names were never released to the public until one of the men was arrested months later. Even then, the other 2 mens names were never released.

 

[bwt42]

Primarily to misdirect people's attention and perhaps a bit of a look into the mind of the person who told the tale (if it's false) and their world POV.

I don't understand. A person would tell a false tale so others could look into their mind?

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I'm starting to doubt that she was ever at the bar. Maybe I am out of touch with her demographic, but why have we not seen any pictures online of the bar that night? Whether friends that were there with her or other people that were there that want the limelight? Usually people will post pics and say they "think" this looks like the missing person, or even pics of the supposed suspects. Being from NC and following the Susan Smith case, I think it is natural for some people, if they are trying to throw LE off the trail, to naturally describe fictional suspects that look as different from them and their friends as possible. Reason being they would not want any friends that happen to be two heavy set white guys accused. Also, as a white person, I can say most white people are not very good at describing specific physical details of other races. Just a general outline of their body frames...and maybe hair if it is memorable. Also, and I do not, truly do not mean to start anything, but to *some* white people, if they find two innocent black guys that they can pin it on (it has happened many times) but who they are protecting is never caught, they think it is no great loss. "They were probably guilty of something else anyway." Please know that I hate this mindset but I am a white woman born , raised, and living in the south and in some areas racism is alive and well. So sad. And I confront it where I can. I hope this is not the case here for many reasons.

Thank you so much for this insightful post. Incidentally, I am a POC, and I agree with everything you said here. I have almost been in denial about the possibility of a friend being involved in Paighton’s disappearance because it’s so painful to think about. Similarly, I hate that there appears to be a real possibility that the “two heavy-set black men” never existed. This needs to stop before it gets any worse.

ETA: It’s the possibility of the friend harming Paighton that I am really struggling with.

 

[Momof4RN]

Okay, to me the silence from LE is unusual. It will be two weeks tomorrow. Surely they have SOMETHING they can share. I don't feel a sense of urgency to find her, as if she's not alive or in danger...just my opinion. Have we ever had a case where LE is silent, not offering updates to keep this on the radar, just letting rumor and speculation run rampant with no updates? LE said this is a strange case, in my opinion they are acting strange too.

The names were never released to the public until one of the men was arrested months later. Even then, the other 2 mens names were never released.

That wasn’t the question asked.
In SS case they “shared” at least confirmation she was at the bar and had left the bar accompanied. In this case LE hasn’t even confirmed PH was at this bar much less accompanied by anyone. After almost 2 weeks they should at least be able to confirm if she was there at all. MOO

 

[bwt42]

Strongly disagree, "(a)s we have heard none of them" the original story has NO CORROBORATION, and therefore we can make NO assumptions on its accuracy at all. It's just hearsay at this point. I don't believe we have heard anything from anybody else allegedly there that evening.

Just because WE have no corroboration doesn't mean LE does not.