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

[MntnHiker]

Surveillance video does not show anyone resembling these two men...well that is concerning.

Now I am curious what time Paighton left the bar vs. what time her friend at the bar left. I wonder if they can see that on the video.

 

[bestill]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Sergeant Johnny Williams with the Birmingham Police Department said investigators have reviewed surveillance video from a bar where Paighton Houston was last seen and have not found anyone matching the description of the two men she is believed to have left with.

Officers believe Houston willingly left the Tin Roof bar with two heavy set black men on Friday, December 20, based on information provided in the missing persons report.

Houston’s family said she was at the bar that night with friends from work. One of those friends contacted Houston’s family and told them she left the bar with the two men and appeared to do so willing, according to Houston’s brother, Evan.

The friend also shared a text message she said she received from Houston that said, “IDK who I am with so if I call please answer. I feel in trouble.”

B’ham Police: Surveillance video in Paighton Houston case does not show 2 men she reportedly left with

BBM - This is very disturbing! Were there two heavy set black men??

 

[MichelleBlue]

And sorry to not be PC, but the bar looks to have a vastly white crowd. So, you would think two heavy-set black men would stand out.

 

[UnderTheSouthernCross]

"Sergeant Johnny Williams with the Birmingham Police Department said investigators have reviewed surveillance video from a bar where Paighton Houston was last seen and have not found anyone matching the description of the two men she is believed to have left with."

This is aggravating, because it is ambiguous the way it is written (why can't they hire real journalists?)...this does not indicate whether they have not found anyone ON THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO that does not match the description of the two men, or whether they saw two men on the video and have not found anyone IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC that fit their descriptions. That's kind of an important point here.

 

[ChuckInHouston]

haha, i've noticed that any time a female age of 12 and up goes missing there'll be at least one and usually multiple "hey, you think she was trafficked?" posts within the first thread. Maybe these posts group all sex-motivated abductions as trafficking. Trafficking maybe should be reserved for a fairly well-defined MO (grooming over time vs sudden violent abduction).

The main time trafficking overlaps with missing persons cases is when someone who had fallen into a trafficking situation suddenly drops off the grid completely. There have been some higher profile type cases of missing persons cases after trafficking out of Vegas and Socal and Atlanta. Those are super-tough. You're often looking for someone who they can't even say when/where or with whom they were last seen. Just that they used to check in and haven't in weeks/months. And getting LE to take their disappearance seriously can be a challenge when it's a trafficked person who turns up missing and not just off doing their thing.

Despite Paighton overlapping the profile of a trafficking victim on the data point of substance abuse history, doesn't seem like much else about her case suggests trafficking. The lack of use of her bank account doesn't mesh with the MO of traffickers. Who will milk a victim for their own and any family resources they have access to. She's also not the sort of young or otherwise exploitable/marginal background demographic traffickers favor. And, yeah, if you're a trafficker engaged in all manner of illegal activities on an on-going basis the last thing you want is to do something high-profile that puts a target on you and your operation.

I agree. This is very unlikely to be a trafficking case. Unfortunately it will most likely be what it most often is. Taken for nefarious reasons, I’d rather not mention. My prayers to the family that they get to bring her home.

 

[Jaydee0158]

Whoa! I just heard on WBRC 6 News an update from this afternoon - 12/31/19, at 4:00 p.m. CST. According to the reporter, the BPD said this afternoon that the videos they have viewed DOES NOT show PH leaving the LKL with anyone, and they are unable to identify the two men she was said to have left with. Further, the reporter said i) the information about who PH left with originated from PH's friend at the LKL, and ii) the BPD said it needs the public's help locating the men PH left with. SMH. Didn't an earlier report in the MSM say that she was "seen in a video leaving with two men?"

I would like to see a press conference by the BPD to get the info straight from them. Yes, no, we can't release details, PH is in danger, something. At this point, I question anything being said.

Regarding the news report, I can't find a link since it is so recent (like 10 minutes ago), but as soon as it is posted to their website, I will copy and link here unless someone else does so.

 

[Deleted member 110058]

So the friend is lying? Uh oh.

Why do you think the friend is lying? I'm feeling a bit lost here

 

[sraybella]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Sergeant Johnny Williams with the Birmingham Police Department said investigators have reviewed surveillance video from a bar where Paighton Houston was last seen and have not found anyone matching the description of the two men she is believed to have left with.

Officers believe Houston willingly left the Tin Roof bar with two heavy set black men on Friday, December 20, based on information provided in the missing persons report.

Houston’s family said she was at the bar that night with friends from work. One of those friends contacted Houston’s family and told them she left the bar with the two men and appeared to do so willing, according to Houston’s brother, Evan.

The friend also shared a text message she said she received from Houston that said, “IDK who I am with so if I call please answer. I feel in trouble.”

B’ham Police: Surveillance video in Paighton Houston case does not show 2 men she reportedly left with

This is what I was afraid we would learn as more information was released.
LEs use of “reported to have left”...was telling, IMO.

 

[ChuckInHouston]

BBM - This is very disturbing! Were there two heavy set black men??

If this is the case, then there is more to this story. Is this friend the same one she had an argument with? The only whiteness to “who she left with” & “the one who received the text” weird!!!

 

[Deleted member 110058]

Whoa! I just heard on WBRC 6 News an update from this afternoon - 12/31/19, at 4:00 p.m. CST. According to the reporter, the BPD said this afternoon that the videos they have viewed DOES NOT show PH leaving the LKL with anyone, and they are unable to identify the two men she was said to have left with. Further, the reporter said i) the information about who PH left with originated from PH's friend at the LKL, and ii) the BPD said it needs the public's help locating the men PH left with. SMH. Didn't an earlier report in the MSM say that she was "seen in a video leaving with two men?"

I would like to see a press conference by the BPD to get the info straight from them. Yes, no, we can't release details, PH is in danger, something. At this point, I question anything being said.

Regarding the news report, I can't find a link since it is so recent (like 10 minutes ago), but as soon as it is posted to their website, I will copy and link here unless someone else does so.

I agree with you 100% By not holding a presser, LE is creating a PR nightmare for themselves. A key part of an investigation is communicating with the public so to maintain their trust. They have done an awful job doing this. Now it looks like they are disorganized and not trust worthy. They don't need to divulge evidence, but they do need to show the public that they have their story straight!

 

[insearchoflight]

Uhhhhh, that’s a turn of events

 

[Seattle1]

So the friend is lying? Uh oh.

Or mistaken. We don't know how long PH and her co-worker were at the Tin Roof establishment or what state her friend was in that evening. From PH's Vemeo, I believe that PH is a smoker. She may have seen PH walk outside one or ten times Friday night to smoke and if she was not called upon to account what she saw until the following day her recall might be off. MOO

 

[bestill]

Surely Paighton is on the video, how else would they know what she was wearing when she went missing or was that provided by the friend too?
Paighton Houston Missing: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

 

[proctorelites]

Paighton's friend(s) may want to set the record straight because if they say she left the bar with 2 heavy set black men and LE says there is no footage of those 2 men in the bar at all, it makes the friend look like a liar. This was in the missing person report bc its what the parents were told IMO. LE cannot verify what the friends told the parents is what I understand now. This is not looking good. When is the last time her family saw Paighton? Maybe thats where this needs to start instead.

 

[bestill]

And sorry to not be PC, but the bar looks to have a vastly white crowd. So, you would think two heavy-set black men would stand out.

Yes!

 

[UnderTheSouthernCross]

Or mistaken. We don't know how long PH and her co-worker were at the Tin Roof establishment or what state her friend was in that evening. From PH's Vemeo, I believe that PH is a smoker. She may have seen PH walk outside one or ten times Friday night to smoke and if she was not called upon to account what she saw until the following day her recall might be off. MOO

If the friend's credibility now is questionable, that definitely explains LE saying they have no leads...without the friend's information, there are now almost ZERO facts that are definite and in that case there really are no leads. That's terrible for 10 days worth of work.

 

[Deleted member 110058]

Have any of you read reports that LE has done any on foot searches of the immediate vicinity? Not just looking for video from nearby business but literally checking alleys, dumpters, etc...

 

[Frenchie4]

Ok... So LE can't seem to confirm the existence of the two heavyset black men that must have stood out that night. We have confirmation that this information was included in the missing persons report filed by her brother and father. So this is second hand information coming from the last person known to be with Paighton... The co-worker/friend.

So if this is true, why would the coworker go home, see that Paighton's car is still parked outside, go inside and promptly get to sleep and not notice the text from Paighton until morning??? Knowing Paighton left with two strangers before she did, she's not home and you just go to sleep? What?

www.wbrc.com/2019/12/27/reward-offered-missing-trussville-woman/

 

[Deleted member 110058]

If the friend's credibility now is questionable, that definitely explains LE saying they have no leads...without the friend's information, there are now almost ZERO facts that are definite and in that case there really are no leads. That's terrible for 10 days worth of work.

What in the heck has LE been doing for the last 10 days?

 

[cvaldez1975]

if it turns out no one can confirm that she was last seen w those gentlemen, who would have access and reason to text the friend the disturbing message....