Excellent as always EA , you take us down many paths , thanks very much.Not sure the SO thought this case urgent though I will go back and check it out again
Bringing this forward it seems strange from the first contacts LE had , every had a different take on these situations, but you can go back.. all that time is lost and wasted. (, Sorry that is my gripe I guess with missing cases) what's hinky to some is not to others MOOI wasnt able to, either. Hopefully, ArcadeKris comes back.
One thing I find interesting:
As most MSM articles on Pauls disappearance do, Stillwater County Sheriffs Offices FB page says His [Pauls] vehicle was located in Reed Point Sunday evening, April 29th, 2018.
Stillwater County Sheriff's Office
However:
At approximately 12:23 p.m. the following day, a Stillwater County Sheriffs deputy responded to a call about Batsons abandoned 2016 Dodge Charger that was parked on the street across from the gas station in Reed Point. Batavia, Ill., police were contacted in an effort to locate a phone number, but a number was not found. The deputy wrote on the cars window for Batson to call the sheriffs office.
At 8:35 p.m., dispatch got a delayed hit on the car, and learned the owner had been reported as missing by the Bozeman PD the previous day. A deputy returned to the location and noted the vehicle was extremely clean and the only items missing appeared to be Batsons cell phone and his wallet. People in the area were questioned, but none remembered seeing a man that matched Batsons description.
The car was impounded and a search for Batson was launched immediately. (BBM)
Without a Trace
So how do LE know Pauls car was already in Reed Point Sunday evening when they werent made aware of it until 12:23 p.m. the next day? Perhaps it was caught on camera, possibly belonging to the gas station across the street.
Also:
Batson was last heard from at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, when he told his girlfriend he was at the Bozeman Public Library and had a meeting with the Bozeman Postal Service the following morning, April 30, according to police reports. (BBM)
Without a Trace
And:
Batson last sent a text to his girlfriend in Illinois on Sunday from Montana, Batson-List said. There haven't been any texts or phone calls since. (BBM)
Batson's girlfriend reported him missing after speaking with Batson's family and calling hospitals and hotels in the Bozeman area, Batson-List said.
Batavia man missing under suspicious circumstances in Montana
I wonder if Paul said something concerning in the text. Had he picked up a hitchhiker? Did he sound despondent? It would have been sent after they spoke around 4 p.m. on Sunday when he said he was at the library in Bozeman, and she reported him missing the same night.
It sounds like maybe there was something in that text the girlfriend immediately found concerning.
bringing this forward this poster made only 3 posts early on. Please check them out when you get a chance, tell me what you think. Won't say more now. TIAI am in this town right now. They have been up and down the river and ate currently there with boats and dogs. This man's oldest Son has been here wandering around just hoping for any information. I can honestly say I do not believe Paul Batson ever made it to Reed Point. Yes his car was abandoned here but I do not believe he was still in it at the time. The only surveillance they have is from the small gas station and the footage was terrible. Interestingly enough, you do see the car pull into the space at the post office but then the feed just stopped recording for 5 minutes and when it starts again no one is in the vehicle. No items of value were stolen from the vehicle either. His cell phone had been dead for 4 hours before the car arrived here, yet there was a working charger in the car. It's a very suspicious case and the fact that you can't take a dump here without neighbors knowing makes it even more odd because this was at 7:09 pm and no one remembers seeing anything...
bringing this forward this poster made only 3 posts early on. Please check them out when you get a chance, tell me what you think. Won't say more now. TIA
Quick question for you .. just for clarification, Paul's vehicle parked AT the gas station and the camera in question that blanked out was located AT the post office, correct? I'm assuming LE could tell if the camera was purposefully disabled or footage deleted. If they can't, I'd be investigating everyone with access to it.
With all this, yet Paul is still missing. He fell off the face of the earth, it seems.
Considering the car is on one of the only obvious places in Reed Point, that can’t be an accident, and it probably isn’t Paul who left it there. I think we have to go back to the placement of Paul in Bozeman because nothing else makes sense. It almost sounds like the car was dumped there. And there would almost have to be someone else involved to get out of Reed Point and back to Bozeman.
Paul has dinner in Bozeman. I’m starting to think he ran into foul play there. IMO
Are you local?I'd like more reliable, verified sources for the following things that have become "assumptions" throughout this thread, until then, I'd assume these to not be true:
My speculation (and that's all it is) is that there is no footage, and definitely no nefarious Nixon-esque "gap" in the footage. Just looking at Street View, the only object on the gas station that looks like a camera is one pointed at the propane. Again, maybe there is a camera I don't see, maybe there are cameras on the post office, I have no information, just my own thoughts.
- Security footage exists
- Gap in security footage
- Keys found next to car
- Car found in "spot" in PO parking lot
I doubt the car was *in* the post office lot. It's described as being "roadside" which would make me think it's in the gravel strip next to Division St, the main drag in Reed Point. Also, I haven't seen a LE reference to the keys being next to the car.
Things we do know:
According to the Stillwater News on June 28, 2018, all leads have been exhausted "locally." Bozeman police say criminal activity is not suspected, though his car being found in Reed Point after he was last seen in Bozeman is "a suspicious element." No activity on bank accounts, social media, or his phone.
- Car found roadside
- Travel bag inside, phone charger in car
- Car described as "extremely clean"
- Wallet and cell phone not in car
Are you local?
I must have missed that- what were the circumstances of his previous disappearance? TiaFor all we know, Paul could have been communicating with a lady in the Bozeman area for quite awhile and decided to move in with her and go completely off grid.
Let's not forget he did disappear once before years ago.
I just re-read the first few pages of this thread and Paul's sister is quoted as saying he has never disappeared before. I must've confused him with someone else. Apologies.I must have missed that- what were the circumstances of his previous disappearance? Tia