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Here is this morning's update from the Grand Junction Sentinal
75 searchers tromp across wildlife area
Sunday, July 15, 2007
They used their noses, trying to detect unusual smells, and scooted around dense tamarisk looking for broken branches or suspicious tracks in the mud.
About 75 searchers braved sweltering midday temperatures and bug bites, giving up lazy summer Saturday plans to seek clues to the whereabouts of Paige Birgfeld, a Grand Junction woman missing for two weeks.
“Have you ever seen anything so dense?” asked search crew leader Carl Quist, scanning the Walker State Wildlife Area, a marshy location south of the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 6& 50.
Searchers organized by the Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation fanned out in about a two-mile radius of Birgfeld’s burned car which was found July 1 in a parking lot at 727 Road 23. Birgfeld, a mother of three who ran an escort service and sold kitchen and baby gear, was last seen June 28.
Law enforcement identified 55 sections, but 12 teams of about 10 people each had only searched one area by late Saturday, said Connie Flukey, director of the foundation that aids in search operations.
“We have a lot of area to cover, still,” she said, adding that searchers will start again at 6:30 a.m. today. Searchers over 18 can sign up at any time today with a photo ID. A command center at Grand Junction High School offers free food, drinks and support.
Lora and Geoff Walker, who joined a group of eight other searchers Saturday at the wildlife area, trudged through dense grasses that reached well overhead and over soggy underbrush.
Searchers were instructed to slowly walk in line a few feet from each other and look for signs of disturbed soil, discarded clothing and footprints.
“We just wanted to give whatever support we could,” Lora said. “We don’t know Paige or her family. We’d like to see a happy ending or some closure for them.”
Some searchers, like Heidi Lobato, Birgfeld’s longtime friend, went out to search multiple times Saturday with different groups for two- to three-hour stretches. Lobato said after Birgfeld had been missing a few days, reality set in for her that she may be dead. Lobato got a baby sitter for her children and plans to search again today.
“She would do it for us,” Lobato said of Birgfeld, whom she said was never seen without a smile. “I know she would.”
Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey, who spent some of the day at headquarters, said searchers didn’t uncover any major clues Saturday, but deputies did investigate some searchers’ findings. Hilkey said the decision to call on help from the Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation was a matter of scheduling around the department’s workload. The county’s volunteer search and rescue teams are also looking for Birgfeld.
“We’re hoping for the best, but our job is to prepare for the worst,” Hilkey said.
He said the Walker wildlife area is a high priority because it marks the shortest distance between where Birgfeld’s car was found and the Colorado River.
He said the department isn’t ruling out Birgfeld’s second husband, Rob Dixon, as a person of interest, but “there are other people more interesting.”
“All along we’ve been identifying persons of interest,” he said. “We’re not ready to jump out and say we have one single suspect, but the investigation has good information and good focus. We’re not in the position that we’re finding things to do,” he said. “Things are coming at us very fast.”
Hilkey said finding Birgfeld is not necessary for identifying a suspect or suspects. Hilkey said the Sheriff’s Department has dedicated its team of investigators, two from Grand Junction Police Department, two from the Grand Junction Fire Department, as well as investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, to the case.
The search has drawn national media attention and donations of food and services from local businesses have been rolling in. Tables were filled with sunscreen, bottled water and snacks. The Salvation Army employees donated 300 sandwiches and many pounds of apples, among other edibles.
Searchers, often discouraged after returning to the base without any clues, gathered to give an account of their search.
Flukey, among other volunteers who got a few hours of sleep Friday night preparing for the search, said she tries to keep searchers’ hopes up. “It’s really important for everyone to remember why we’re here. You know this is all about Paige — bringing Paige home.”
75 searchers tromp across wildlife area
Sunday, July 15, 2007
They used their noses, trying to detect unusual smells, and scooted around dense tamarisk looking for broken branches or suspicious tracks in the mud.
About 75 searchers braved sweltering midday temperatures and bug bites, giving up lazy summer Saturday plans to seek clues to the whereabouts of Paige Birgfeld, a Grand Junction woman missing for two weeks.
“Have you ever seen anything so dense?” asked search crew leader Carl Quist, scanning the Walker State Wildlife Area, a marshy location south of the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 6& 50.
Searchers organized by the Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation fanned out in about a two-mile radius of Birgfeld’s burned car which was found July 1 in a parking lot at 727 Road 23. Birgfeld, a mother of three who ran an escort service and sold kitchen and baby gear, was last seen June 28.
Law enforcement identified 55 sections, but 12 teams of about 10 people each had only searched one area by late Saturday, said Connie Flukey, director of the foundation that aids in search operations.
“We have a lot of area to cover, still,” she said, adding that searchers will start again at 6:30 a.m. today. Searchers over 18 can sign up at any time today with a photo ID. A command center at Grand Junction High School offers free food, drinks and support.
Lora and Geoff Walker, who joined a group of eight other searchers Saturday at the wildlife area, trudged through dense grasses that reached well overhead and over soggy underbrush.
Searchers were instructed to slowly walk in line a few feet from each other and look for signs of disturbed soil, discarded clothing and footprints.
“We just wanted to give whatever support we could,” Lora said. “We don’t know Paige or her family. We’d like to see a happy ending or some closure for them.”
Some searchers, like Heidi Lobato, Birgfeld’s longtime friend, went out to search multiple times Saturday with different groups for two- to three-hour stretches. Lobato said after Birgfeld had been missing a few days, reality set in for her that she may be dead. Lobato got a baby sitter for her children and plans to search again today.
“She would do it for us,” Lobato said of Birgfeld, whom she said was never seen without a smile. “I know she would.”
Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey, who spent some of the day at headquarters, said searchers didn’t uncover any major clues Saturday, but deputies did investigate some searchers’ findings. Hilkey said the decision to call on help from the Abby and Jennifer Recovery Foundation was a matter of scheduling around the department’s workload. The county’s volunteer search and rescue teams are also looking for Birgfeld.
“We’re hoping for the best, but our job is to prepare for the worst,” Hilkey said.
He said the Walker wildlife area is a high priority because it marks the shortest distance between where Birgfeld’s car was found and the Colorado River.
He said the department isn’t ruling out Birgfeld’s second husband, Rob Dixon, as a person of interest, but “there are other people more interesting.”
“All along we’ve been identifying persons of interest,” he said. “We’re not ready to jump out and say we have one single suspect, but the investigation has good information and good focus. We’re not in the position that we’re finding things to do,” he said. “Things are coming at us very fast.”
Hilkey said finding Birgfeld is not necessary for identifying a suspect or suspects. Hilkey said the Sheriff’s Department has dedicated its team of investigators, two from Grand Junction Police Department, two from the Grand Junction Fire Department, as well as investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, to the case.
The search has drawn national media attention and donations of food and services from local businesses have been rolling in. Tables were filled with sunscreen, bottled water and snacks. The Salvation Army employees donated 300 sandwiches and many pounds of apples, among other edibles.
Searchers, often discouraged after returning to the base without any clues, gathered to give an account of their search.
Flukey, among other volunteers who got a few hours of sleep Friday night preparing for the search, said she tries to keep searchers’ hopes up. “It’s really important for everyone to remember why we’re here. You know this is all about Paige — bringing Paige home.”
