inmyhumbleopinion
#NeverGivingUp
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I know what you mean. It's just hard not to think about it. It's a huge mystery and when there is no solid conclusion you are just left with a ton of speculation.
I agree with what many others have said. It's a very short period of time that this critical incident took place - somewhere between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on 4/29, Paul left the library. What happened next is the whole life altering scenario...he went somewhere either to eat or do an errand somewhere in Bozeman. As everything appears to me, he could have met up with someone or was in a bad encounter with a stranger. That lead to something bad... somewhere between Bozeman and Reed Point. In my heart, I do not believe Paul was the one who dropped the car in Reed Point because between the missing 5 minutes of footage at the most critical of timeframe and other suspicious clues, I feel he could have been carjacked, had a very bad physical encounter with someone and the car was taken from him. This smells of foul play all over it IMO. They path between the Bozeman exits to Reed Point are the answer. The focus in my mind should be between Bozeman and Livingston and not Reed Point.
RBBM
Thank you so much for your thoughts, Avalon...I take them very seriously. These are very good points. I really don't want this to be foul play... but it is absolutely a consideration to be highly weighed. LE appears to be holding all info tightly, which would make sense...I totally agree about the spots you feel should be searched out more!
P.S. If foul play... keys on ground could be there on purpose, as in TAKE THIS VEHICLE... distancing from perp.
Also: RV park there.
RBBM
I just looked at the RV park’s website and nearly got sick to my stomach:
“Catch up with friends and family back home with our convenient Post Office next door. The Sure Stop gas station/convenience store is right across the street to pick up some snacks and supplies or just for a quick re-fuel in your travels.”
https://www.oldwestrv.com/about/
And looking at Google Maps, the Post Office is literally next door (171 ft.):
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Old...dd0261d:0xfd042decd8740a5e!3e2?hl=en-us&gl=us
As much as I hate to admit, I am leaning more and more towards foul play, with a possible scenario being like this:
1. 4 pm - 6 pm, Sun., Apr. 29:
1) Paul texts his GF from the Bozeman Library. He tells her he met someone who needs a ride. The person tells Paul his/her destination, and it is located somewhere between Bozeman and Reed Point.
2) He doesn’t have anything planned for the evening, and since he is there partly to check out the area, out of kindness of his heart, he agrees to give this person a lift.
3) Paul invites the person to join him for dinner. S/he accepts. They chat, and Paul mentions he works for USPS and looking to relocate to MT.
4) They leave Bozeman for the person’s supposed destination. Once in the car, s/he threatens him with a weapon, demands Paul pull over in a remote location and hand over his car, phone and wallet.
5) Afraid that Paul will go to LE, the person harms him. S/he drives away, with Paul’s wallet and cell phone still in the car (or possibly getting rid of the wallet and the phone, keeping cash only), while Paul is left behind.
6) Around the same time, Paul’s GF calls his phone, worried, because of what he told her earlier. The perpetrator turns the phone off (or throws it out of the window, stops at a gas station and puts it in a dumpster, etc., if not already discarded).
7) The perpetrator stops by somewhere like Wal-Mart, buys cleaning supplies, and cleans the car out.
8) Now even more worried, GF tries to contact Paul several times, but he does not answer. She calls area hospitals to no avail. She calls Bozeman PD to report Paul missing.
9) The perpetrator arrives in Reed Point. S/he parks the car along the street in between the Post Office and the gas station, having heard from Paul he was in the area looking for a USPS job, thus making it look as though Paul parked it. The perpetrator also leaves the keys outside the car on purpose, wanting to get rid of them ASAP.
[I also think it’s possible the perpetrator tampered with (e.g., putting a sock over it, etc.) a gas station security camera before parking the car and then put it back in working order before leaving, so that it wouldn’t immediately look suspicious.]
10) The perpetrator walks over to the RV park, where s/he was already staying (maybe did something similar to get to Bozeman, but didn’t harm anyone, at least not seriously), or just stays for the night. Either way, in this scenario, the individual already would have known about the RV park, IMO.
2. Monday, Apr. 30:
1) 12:23 p.m.: A Still-water County Sheriff’s deputy responds to a call about Batson’s abandoned 2016 Dodge Charger that is parked along the street between the Post Office and gas station in Reed Point.
2) 8:35 p.m.: Dispatch gets a “delayed hit” on the car, and learns the owner had been reported as missing by the Bozeman PD the previous day. A deputy returns to the location and notes the vehicle is “extremely clean” and the only items missing appear to be Batson’s cell phone and his wallet. People in the area are questioned, but none remembered seeing a man that matched Batson’s description.
The car is impounded and a search for Batson is launched immediately.
Source of information immediately above:
https://www.stillwatercountynews.com/content/without-trace
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