MT MT - Paul Batson, 45, Stillwater Co, 29 Apr 2018

[Avalon4ever]

I’m not sure how to *tag* someone in a comment. I want to ask Avalon if there’s any chance Paul is bi polar or anything like that?? I know my brother in law, who is BP, once had some issues with his meds that led to some delusional behavior and a disappearance. He went all the way across the country and was found safe three weeks later. Thank goodness!!!

Hello thanks for reaching out. To my knowledge he was not bi polar. I'm glad your brother in law's story had a happy ending. All the best.

 

[Amonet]

Paul isn't into trains, is he?

There's a rail track between Reed Point and the Yellowstone River. I think it's a stretch to go there to watch trains, unless there's a particular one on that line at that time and that's the best access spot, but it could provide an explanation for walking in that direction.

 

[loreet]

I've never done photos before so my apologies if this doesn't work. These should be graphs of water data showing discharge and river height from the USGS monitoring sites at Livingston and Billings for the time period April 27 to May 4 of this year.

 

[crhedBngr]

Avalon4ever: my heart bleeds for you, and the rest of Paul's family and friends. Praying for Paul to be found safe and sound very soon.

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

Avalon4ever: my heart bleeds for you, and the rest of Paul's family and friends. Praying for Paul to be found safe and sound very soon.

Me too...I've woken up in the middle of the night, with Paul on my mind...wondering what we are missing/what we should focus on. Said a prayer for Paul and his family... cannot get back to sleep... trying to think of Paul at the library, and what came next.

1) Would he go through drive-thru for dinner? Is there video of him?
2) Was he set on his hotel in Bozeman?
3) Did he want to go for a short drive, but like someone upthread mentioned, got out too far, with fewer exits...maybe pulled in, had to use the restroom?

I don't know... but I just want him to be okay.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Me too...I've woken up in the middle of the night, with Paul on my mind...wondering what we are missing/what we should focus on. Said a prayer for Paul and his family... cannot get back to sleep... trying to think of Paul at the library, and what came next.

1) Would he go through drive-thru for dinner? Is there video of him?
2) Was he set on his hotel in Bozeman?
3) Did he want to go for a short drive, but like someone upthread mentioned, got out too far, with fewer exits...maybe pulled in, had to use the restroom?

I don't know... but I just want him to be okay.

BBM. That's the main thing here. I'm signing in daily to check in on Paul, passing around ideas and such but, in reality, I just don't know and I just want him to be okay.

 

[Horror]

Hello
Jumping in. Another WS thread filled with wonderful posters.
What a beautiful souled man we have here - not only has he been a defence man but he now befriends people and their animals doing postal deliveries and on foot !

I have just checked sunset in that area it says 8:23pm which made me change my mind from a no to a possibility on a quick drive to a small town (wow google walk shows me it is very little). Although this must have been decide after the call to GF.
The clean car comment jumped at me but military people are inclined to be neat and tidy like that.
Someone who loves their car surely wouldn’t just drop the keys for anyone to find.
What concerned his partner to alert the same night ?
If no motel is found to be booked would he have been maybe sleeping out with a swag. (Is that only Aussie thing [emoji848])

I would wonder whether a drive that far round trip to see his children is a normal trip he might make at times.

I can’t help but like Amonet post regarding stopping for a pee. Looking at the town that does seem like the “middle” of town and most obvious place to stop and have wonder looking for a bathroom.
Also the camper/RV looking place across the toad - are those type of places where people are travelling through town and pull up or permanent type things where people live there ?

Where are you Paul ?

Avalon - much comfort sent to you. An absolute nightmare to find yourselves in. Sending positive vibes for quick answers.

ETA - we are a family of huge Batman fans here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Avalon4ever]

Avalon4ever: my heart bleeds for you, and the rest of Paul's family and friends. Praying for Paul to be found safe and sound very soon.

Thank you. I appreciate that. We do too

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

Hello
Jumping in. Another WS thread filled with wonderful posters.
What a beautiful souled man we have here - not only has he been a defence man but he now befriends people and their animals doing postal deliveries and on foot !

I have just checked sunset in that area it says 8:23pm which made me change my mind from a no to a possibility on a quick drive to a small town (wow google walk shows me it is very little). Although this must have been decide after the call to GF.
The clean car comment jumped at me but military people are inclined to be neat and tidy like that.
Someone who loves their car surely wouldn’t just drop the keys for anyone to find.
What concerned his partner to alert the same night ?
If no motel is found to be booked would he have been maybe sleeping out with a swag. (Is that only Aussie thing [emoji848])

I would wonder whether a drive that far round trip to see his children is a normal trip he might make at times.

I can’t help but like Amonet post regarding stopping for a pee. Looking at the town that does seem like the “middle” of town and most obvious place to stop and have wonder looking for a bathroom.
Also the camper/RV looking place across the toad - are those type of places where people are travelling through town and pull up or permanent type things where people live there ?

Where are you Paul ?

Avalon - much comfort sent to you. An absolute nightmare to find yourselves in. Sending positive vibes for quick answers.

ETA - we are a family of huge Batman fans here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You looking up sunset time? Oh, what a good Aussie sleuther you are!:gday:

I looked up "swag" online...and yes, it's an Aussie thing (portable sleeping unit). Thank you for coming on the thread and your thoughtful post.:cheers:

Two things are creeping up a bit more for me... the car seems carefully *placed*, not dumped... as do the keys -- *placed.* Everything is in place... neat, tidy... proper.

You know what I hope for? I really, really hope that this wonderful, caring man had internal stressors/confusions that he just didn't want to "burden" anyone with (as someone caring may look at it), and he left, to sort out some things -- that maybe it's the only random thing he has ever, ever done in his whole life -- and I pray that he is okay and will be in touch with them soon.

This is what I really, really hope.:heartbeat:

 

[Avalon4ever]

Me too...I've woken up in the middle of the night, with Paul on my mind...wondering what we are missing/what we should focus on. Said a prayer for Paul and his family... cannot get back to sleep... trying to think of Paul at the library, and what came next.

1) Would he go through drive-thru for dinner? Is there video of him?
2) Was he set on his hotel in Bozeman?
3) Did he want to go for a short drive, but like someone upthread mentioned, got out too far, with fewer exits...maybe pulled in, had to use the restroom?

I don't know... but I just want him to be okay.

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.

 

[DakotaMayi]

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.

The surveillance which had the missing 5 minutes... is that surveillance from the PO? I'm wondering who had access to that surveillance.

 

[Gussified]

The surveillance which had the missing 5 minutes... is that surveillance from the PO? I'm wondering who had access to that surveillance.

Just to clarify. AFAIK, the existence of any surveillance at all is rumor, and has not been confirmed by MSM or LE. We do not know whether there is surveillance video. And if there is we do not know that there is a 5 minute break. That info was posted by an individual here on WS, not from any official source.


MOO

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

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.

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.

 

[DakotaMayi]

Just to clarify. AFAIK, the existence of any surveillance at all is rumor, and has not been confirmed by MSM or LE. We do not know whether there is surveillance video. And if there is we do not know that there is a 5 minute break. That info was posted by an individual here on WS, not from any official source.


MOO

Avalon just said it in the post I replied to? And as Avalon is Paul's family, I'm inclined to go with what they are saying far more than what is being said in MSM.

 

[Gussified]

Avalon just said it in the post I replied to? And as Avalon is Paul's family, I'm inclined to go with what they are saying far more than what is being said in MSM.

Yes, I should have quoted Avalon’s post too. Maybe Avalon had inside info, or maybe Avalon is repeating the rumor posted here. idk, but just wanted to clarify that there’s been no confirmed source posted here.


MOO

 

[DakotaMayi]

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.

I'm hoping that they are keeping things close to them rather than that they don't have anything to go on. I feel as if there is more we are not being told (quite rightly).

I really didn't think we would still be here 5/18 with no Paul? :cry:

 

[Avalon4ever]

Yes, I should have quoted Avalon’s post too. Maybe Avalon had inside info, or maybe Avalon is repeating the rumor posted here. idk, but just wanted to clarify that there’s been no confirmed source posted here.


MOO

Just to clarify to everyone I am referencing the video tape as mentioned on these boards and not from insider info. Thanks.

As Paul's family member, I know about as much as everyone else. This is being kept with minimal details from police. Must be a reason for that, and it's indeed quite frustrating to not have answers by now.

 

[Avalon4ever]

Hello
Jumping in. Another WS thread filled with wonderful posters.
What a beautiful souled man we have here - not only has he been a defence man but he now befriends people and their animals doing postal deliveries and on foot !

I have just checked sunset in that area it says 8:23pm which made me change my mind from a no to a possibility on a quick drive to a small town (wow google walk shows me it is very little). Although this must have been decide after the call to GF.
The clean car comment jumped at me but military people are inclined to be neat and tidy like that.
Someone who loves their car surely wouldn’t just drop the keys for anyone to find.
What concerned his partner to alert the same night ?
If no motel is found to be booked would he have been maybe sleeping out with a swag. (Is that only Aussie thing [emoji848])

I would wonder whether a drive that far round trip to see his children is a normal trip he might make at times.

I can’t help but like Amonet post regarding stopping for a pee. Looking at the town that does seem like the “middle” of town and most obvious place to stop and have wonder looking for a bathroom.
Also the camper/RV looking place across the toad - are those type of places where people are travelling through town and pull up or permanent type things where people live there ?

Where are you Paul ?

Avalon - much comfort sent to you. An absolute nightmare to find yourselves in. Sending positive vibes for quick answers.

ETA - we are a family of huge Batman fans here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just wanted to say thank you for adding your thoughts and support. I really appreciate them and it helps to talk to people and hear their insight into such a frustrating and I heartbreaking issue. Thanks for sharing and being here. All the best.

 

[Jazzy5980]

FYI, it is easy to turn around on the interstate in MT since there are many turn outs and often little traffic. No need to wait for an exit.

 

[Gussified]

Just to clarify to everyone I am referencing the video tape as mentioned on these boards and not from insider info. Thanks.

As Paul's family member, I know about as much as everyone else. This is being kept with minimal details from police. Must be a reason for that, and it's indeed quite frustrating to not have answers by now.

Thanks for the clarification, Avalon4ever. So sorry you and your family are going thru this. The fact that LE is not telling the family more leads me to think they may suspect foul play, despite what they’ve said publicly.


MOO