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

[rickcross]

Unfortunately I don't think that there is any hope that this is going to turn out well. Praying for a miracle, just don't think its going to happen.

 

[alsleuther]

Family and friends gather for a prayer vigil for Paighton Houston

Was this posted yet?

Info from the article:

Security video pulled from the bar has not helped police.

The two men-- Paighton's friends say she left the bar with---have not been identified.

Police will not confirm foul play was involved.

However she is considered to be in danger.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

This is all I have found on MSN in reference to PH not knowing the 2 men that points to origination of the 2 men being "strangers". There are other stories but info & source seem a bit disjointed based on the way the story is written (JMO).
"She was seen leaving with two men. A friend says she saw them from across the bar and she cannot identify the men."
Also a different quote in concerning leads:
"Crimestoppers says a few leads have come in which they turned over to investigators."
Missing Trussville woman's family pleads for anyone with information to come forward

 

[Deleted member 110058]

Family and friends gather for a prayer vigil for Paighton Houston

Was this posted yet?

Info from the article:

Security video pulled from the bar has not helped police.

The two men-- Paighton's friends say she left the bar with---have not been identified.

Police will not confirm foul play was involved.

However she is considered to be in danger.

Whaaat?! The men have not been ID! Forgive me everyone as I am generally FIRMLY in LE's corner, but what in the heck have they been doing for the last 11 days?

 

[proctorelites]

The 2 men are not known to her friends or family. That doesnt mean Paighton didn't know them in my opinion and her mother stated as much. What makes this friend think she didnt know them?

 

[alsleuther]

Question about phone records? If this is still a Missing Person investigation and not a Criminal Investigation, can we assume that LE had access to cell phone carrier data including phone calls and text messages from earlier that evening?

I know we have heard about a ping near a hospital 4 miles away. If they have that, can they also view texts sent earlier in the evening?

 

[alsleuther]

If there was a band playing that night, there was likely a cover charge right? So there were one or more individuals working the doors checking IDs and taking money, so if these 2 men entered the bar a bouncer or cop would have let them in? So far we have only heard the coworker described the two mystery men from across the bar leaving with Paighton. But I do not know of anyone else claiming to have seen them......

 

[Razz]

The 2 men are not known to her friends or family. That doesnt mean Paighton didn't know them in my opinion and her mother stated as much. What makes this friend think she didnt know them?

Maybe these men came to collect a debt and threatened her that if she didn't come willingly, there'd be trouble. Perhaps LE doesn't want to put the pictures out there as they are part of a gang and fear retribution. Jmo

 

[Knox]

Gut instinct is correct. My mother, NY homicide reporter, said every single survivor said the same thing to her. They had a bad feeling right before the attack ...but went ahead....(into the basement, dark alley, elevator with stranger, etc)

Great post, this needs to be put on a WS banner on the front page.

 

[interestedincases]

I find the timeline a little odd here, however. I read that the friend did not respond to the text until the next morning, by which time all calls were being sent to vmail. However, the text was sent at 12.15a; my bar days have long since passed, but I do know if I were in a bar with live music at 10.30p I was hardly likely to be home asleep 1 hour and 45 minutes later. I might have left the establishment, but I was not likely asleep. I'm just sayin'

To me it depends on the age of the coworkers she was with, we have friends 15 years our junior so her coworkers easily could have been a mix of all ages, not just all younger. I can say if I get to the bar around 9PM, we usually leave fairly early and I fall asleep on the car ride home :O I think it would depend on the age of the coworker she sent the text to. If she was a little older, I can see her already home and asleep. Lots of reasons to leave the bar early and just go home and to bed. Disagreement with friends at the bar puts a damper on the evening, she didn't like the band and left, too rowdy of a crowd. This one doesn't flag me too much.

 

[Jo in Calif]

"She's always very cautious," Houston's friend, Jennifer Schaffner, said at the vigil. "She's just not one to do, you know, something like that, like, leave with a random person. That's just not who she is."

Family desperate for answers 10 days after woman vanished from Birmingham bar

 

[Knox]

Whaaat?! The men have not been ID! Forgive me everyone as I am generally FIRMLY in LE's corner, but what in the heck have they been doing for the last 11 days?

All the back and forth is frustrating, this could easily be cleared up with a press conference. The family holds a vigil, but LE can't hold a PC to divulge the basic facts in this missing person's case?

 

[bwt42]

The 2 men are not known to her friends or family. That doesnt mean Paighton didn't know them in my opinion and her mother stated as much. What makes this friend think she didnt know them?

Most likely only Paighton & the 2 men would know for sure if they previously knew each other. However from interviews at the bar, LE could possibly learn whether they had just met.

 

[bwt42]

All the back and forth is frustrating, this could easily be cleared up with a press conference. The family holds a vigil, but LE can't hold a PC to divulge the basic facts in this missing person's case?

In the Savannah Spurlock case there wasn't a presser until an arrest & a year later we still don't know the names of 2 of the 3 men she left the bar with.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

People aren’t kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking though (with any regularity), despite viral Facebook posts to the contrary.

Victims tend to live high risk lifestyles, and are subject to psychological manipulation (as opposed to force).

Myth: Human traffickers kidnap their victims

Reality: Traffickers in the U.S. usually lure victims into sex and labor trafficking situations through less dramatic, but just as insidious, means.

Traffickers are too smart to try to snatch unwitting victims from grocery store parking lots and city parks, authorities say, despite urban legends that continue to circulate on social media. Though there are some cases of kidnapping in human trafficking operations, they are relatively rare. Some victims are coerced or forced into trafficking through familial or romantic relationships, like Claira. Tuscaloosa Police Department Lt. Darren Beams said he's encountered victims who were promised money for college from a part-time job, only to become trapped in a trafficking ring. Victims most at risk — those without familial or community resources to turn to, or those fearful of authorities — include LGBT.

Do traffickers kidnap their victims? The myths and realities of human trafficking

Man, I wish I could like this post 10,000 times and repost it on any missing female thread when all the trafficking stuff starts getting thrown around. Having LE and MSM and the general public on the lookout for someone who has been abducted is not conducive to a sex trafficker's bottom line.

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

DBM found my answer

 

[BlinkOfAnI]

I give so much credit to PH for overcoming her addiction. A career as a PO makes me wonder if she used suboxin or methadone to help with her addiction. If she did and anyone found they may have wanted to take it from her as it has a high street value. Many carry it on them. JMO maybe she didn't either.

 

[Bally_Bally_Be]

Family and friends gather for a prayer vigil for Paighton Houston

To be honest, I suspected, as written earlier in this forum, that the bar didnt have adequate cameras. So after the last 10 days of discussion, it has come out that the surveillance footage was not helpful. Cant say I didnt see that coming. In my experience, as I managed a bar for 5 years. Bar owners cheap out when it comes to extra costs like this. I suspect that there was not a good visual on the perpetrators.

 

[bestill]

The 2 men are not known to her friends or family. That doesnt mean Paighton didn't know them in my opinion and her mother stated as much. What makes this friend think she didnt know them?

Assuming they have seen the video based on this statement, I have been wondering if they had.

All the back and forth is frustrating, this could easily be cleared up with a press conference. The family holds a vigil, but LE can't hold a PC to divulge the basic facts in this missing person's case?

This!!! I don't understand what LE is doing, no request for help finding the two men, no additional details released like last phone ping, etc... and of course I'm a huge LE supporter. Just confused about this.

 

[Crimechick27]

Moo...Since the news article from the prayer vigil confirms some of our fears that the 2 men Paighton left with have still not been identified and the video footage was not helpful, it makes me wonder under what circumstances LE will release their limited info on these men to help ID and find/talk to these guys. I fear that these men would have already contacted LE to clear up any concerns if there was nothing to hide. It seems dangerous to Paighton’s well-being to “out” these 2 men for fear they could get panicked and hurt her, and it seems negligent to not ID them because it seems like that is keeping Paighton in a likely bad situation even longer. LE has got to feel damned if they do and damned if they don’t with this case...moo only....