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

[bwt42]

How is she eating?

Do you need bank activity to eat?

 

[insearchoflight]

What a complete mess. I see a growing problem beginning. I’ve noticed it on other cases and it’s getting worse.

Media uses social media as “sources” for their articles mixed in with LE information then skewed to their perception.

It didn’t used to be that way, and for good reason.

 

[Momma2cam]

News update from a couple hours ago. The most intriguing thing is that we now have a reason why no surveillance video has been released of these two men. That’s because law enforcement can’t find them on it.

This description apparently came from her friend, but we don’t know if other people have corroborated it or not.

Regardless, the lack of video is intriguing.

BPD: Surveillance video shows Paighton Houston leaving bar alone

It looks like WBRC removed their article and video.

 

[Knox]

What a complete mess. I see a growing problem beginning. I’ve noticed it on other cases and it’s getting worse.

Media uses social media as “sources” for their articles mixed in with LE information then skewed to their perception.

It didn’t used to be that way, and for good reason.

We need to start a "media bashing thread" so we can vent appropriately. The last several cases I've followed, the reporter is on scene somewhere. No camera or sound crews, just a cell phone recording themselves in real time (unscripted).

This can be beneficial if the reporter is seasoned, real time-boots on the ground reporting. But some of the younger reporters seem like they are talking to a peer group at a house party. No verified facts.

 

[momrids6]

Ok. 29; in recovery, talks to mom a lot, works, missing. That's it

 

[Crimechick27]

I need a love button for this.

I just want to drop this here. If a person reading here has the info necessary:
They need help finding Paighton and you may receive a reward if you call and give them info that helps find her. These are the words of the Chairman of the board of Alabama Crime Stoppers taken from the article linked below.
"You will be totally anonymous. No one will ever ask you to the district attorney. Police will never interview you. You will be paid a cash reward in as little time as one week,” Frank Barefield said.

Barefield added no one has to be arrested. If your information helps with the investigation you will get a reward."
Here are the numbers: Birmingham Police Department 205-254-1700 or Crime Stoppers 205-254-7777 (crime stoppers is who you'll call if you have that info and want that reward)
Link

 

[Crimechick27]

Push to create missing adult alert system

This article was posted about there being a push in Alabama for a missing adult alert system. Paighton is referenced as the most recent reason why this is needed. Hope this happens soon.

 

[katydid23]

Do you need bank activity to eat?

Not necessarily. But if she is not eating at home, she would have to purchase food or drinks. People don't usually keep a lot of cash on them, it seems, usually they rely upon bank cards to make purchases.

 

[Van Helsing]

If she left alone and her car was not there, then how did she leave? Walk?

Maybe Uber of Lyft?

 

[Seattle1]

It looks like WBRC removed their article and video.

Seems the story / news article was merged on 12/31/19 as an update to the report of 12/27/19

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

By Alan Collins | December 27, 2019 at 4:33 PM CST -
Updated December 31 at 4:57 PM


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. bbm

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.”

After hearing from the friend, Houston’s brother and father went straight to police and filed the report.

In an email, Williams wrote, “A number of persons have been interviewed at this time, but no major leads have developed from that information.” He said officers are still trying to track down the two men and are continuing to ask the public for help.

ETA: might have to look for the original story and see what if anything deleted after B'ham statement that bar surveillance video does not depict anyone matching description of 2 black men PH was allegedly seen leaving with.

 

[Jaydee0158]

[link to update by WBRC deleted by me] ^^ duplicate of above - late as I'm watching the ball drop in NYC....

 

[Knox]

Does anyone remember the news story that said LE was not sure who PH last spoke with on the phone or when? Trying to find, thanks.

 

[Seattle1]

Social media and Houston's disappearance

By | December 31, 2019 at 10:51 PM CST - Updated December 31 at 10:51 PM

1:50 min video at link above about no men matching description in bar surveillance video, and PH's brother commenting on the negative social media and conspiracy theories popping up that may negatively impact the ongoing investigation.

 

[crhedBngr]

Not necessarily. But if she is not eating at home, she would have to purchase food or drinks. People don't usually keep a lot of cash on them, it seems, usually they rely upon bank cards to make purchases.

Ugh - and I hate typing this - she doesn't need to purchase food or drinks if she is being held somewhere.

JMVHO.

 

[otto]

Ugh - and I hate typing this - she doesn't need to purchase food or drinks if she is being held somewhere.

JMVHO.

No bank card activity. She's gone.

It seems that the question is : who (excluding work friends) last saw her, where and when. If it was the pub, there must be footage telling us the time that she left. There must be CCTV of the streets in the area where she was headed. Where was she headed when she left - a party, home, food?

The problem is that one person is telling a story that implies victim confusion and abduction, and facts demonstrate that this story is false. Chances are that the person telling the story is responsible for her disappearance - maybe.

 

[sraybella]

Does anyone remember the news story that said LE was not sure who PH last spoke with on the phone or when? Trying to find, thanks.

“We’re not quite sure,” he said. “This is kind of a strange case. We’re not sure where she may be or the last person she actually spoke to at this point.”
https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/missi...ith-strange-men-texted-friend-she-was-afraid/

 

[otto]

“We’re not quite sure,” he said. “This is kind of a strange case. We’re not sure where she may be or the last person she actually spoke to at this point.”
https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/missi...ith-strange-men-texted-friend-she-was-afraid/

She went to a pub with work friends. Do work friends vouch that she was there, or does one work friend have a story that makes no sense? What is the name of the person who received the text after she was last seen?

 

[Knox]

Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage that has yet to be released to the public, he added.

The police sergeant could not say for certain whether foul play was a factor.

“We’re not quite sure,” he said. “This is kind of a strange case. We’re not sure where she may be or the last person she actually spoke to at this point.”
https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/missi...ith-strange-men-texted-friend-she-was-afraid/

I'm curious now about LE not knowing "the last person she actually spoke with". Does that mean on the phone or in the bar? They have not said anything about her cell phone records. Would they have received them by 12/27? Do they have them now? I've seen talk on social media about the last place her phone pinged, so someone likely was able to get some information (maybe she's on her families call plan).

 

[Knox]

Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage that has yet to be released to the public, he added.

The police sergeant could not say for certain whether foul play was a factor.

“We’re not quite sure,” he said. “This is kind of a strange case. We’re not sure where she may be or the last person she actually spoke to at this point.”
https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/missi...ith-strange-men-texted-friend-she-was-afraid/

I'm curious now about LE not knowing "the last person she actually spoke with". Does that mean on the phone or in the bar? They have not said anything about her cell phone records. Would they have received them by 12/27? Do they have them now? I've seen talk on social media about the last place her phone pinged, so someone likely was able to get some information (maybe she's on her families call plan).

 

[The Handyman]

I'll be honest; I was skeptical of the "heavy-set black men" thing from the start. I didn't come right out and say it because I'm new here and I'm still figuring things out, and I know this is a victim-friendly forum that generally frowns upon questions being asked about the victims' or the witnesses' integrity, but I tried to hint at it with some of my previous comments about how I sure wouldn't like it if someone pointed at me and gave other people reason to think I did something that I didn't do, which I had a feeling might have been what was going on here. Two heavyset black men walking out with a (possibly unwilling?) young white woman in a bar in Alabama just isn't something that is going to go unnoticed by so many people for so long, I felt. It kinda smelled like the Jussie Smollet thing from last year: the villains were too perfectly type-cast to fit the situation to be totally believable.

Agreed. I noticed a flyer of a missing young woman locally the other day and when I read it, she has been missing for three years yet I never heard of her before.

Also, OT but Paighton is a woman, not a girl as many people refer to her, imo. Yes she is young compared to me, but if a female is not an adult woman at 29, what age is she? I don’t think a 29-year old man would be referred to as a boy...anyway, just a pet peeve of mine. When people are old enough to drink, buy property, etc...to me they are adults. Or should be...

Jmo

I've heard this argument a lot over the years. As a student of language, it interests me.

Personally, I usually go with 25 or 26 as the cut-off. I honestly don't believe human minds mature into their "adult" selves until that age. So anyone younger than, say, 27 is a "kid" to me. However, I will admit I'm likelier to call a female of that age a "girl" than I am to call a male of that age a "boy" (if I'm calling a 25-year-old male a boy, it's much more probable that I'm doing it to shame or embarrass him for acting stupid than if I call a 25-year-old female a girl), but I believe that the words "girl" and "boy," while we may think of them as having equivalent dictionary definitions, have taken on slightly different connotations in actual everyday usage. "Boy" tends to be used strictly to describe young, immature human males, whereas "girl," I believe, has taken on a broader overall usage that extends beyond simply referring to young, immature human females (the fact that the word "guy" has emerged over the years to basically mean a young man, while "gal" has not taken off in popularity to describe a young woman, has something to do with this, I'd say. I honestly think people would rather just say "girl" than "gal"; it's just an easier word to say). In addition, I believe that adults, both males and females, tend to be more protective of young women than young men, which is to be expected, since biologically speaking, their safety and security is of higher importance to the family and community. The very fact that we spend so much time on these Missing Women cases is itself evidence that we care on a deep level about what happens to Missing Women, more so, I would argue, than we care about what happens to Missing Men (I know some might argue about this, but think of how many times we hear the "She could be your daughter! Your sister! Your mother! Your wife!" plea when trying to get people to empathize with the victims, and then think about how many times we hear people say stuff like, "He could be your son! Your brother! Your father! Your husband!" There's no way anyone could seriously try to make the claim we hear the latter anywhere near as often as we hear the former. So we have a deeper emotional reaction when women are in danger than we do when men are in danger). So there is more of a tendency in those who are above the 27-year-old mark to use the word "girl" differently than they use the word "boy."

I honestly don't think that older people referring to twentysomething females as "girls" is wrong. Nor do I believe that it's some sort of sinister sexist agenda determined to infantilize females and revert them back to their pre-1950's state in society. I just think it's a word that comes naturally to most people who are above 30. And personally, I don't see anything wrong with it.

Now, I don't like using the word "girl" to refer to females over 30, unless it's something very context-specific, like my aged mother saying she's going "to hang out with the girls," or something. But men talk about "hanging out with the boys," too, so that's fine.