Knowing Someone
You can think that you know everything about a person, only to find out later that you didn’t know anything about them at all. This is the case With Paige Birgfeld. Everyone thought that they knew all there was to know about her, including her family, until one day, everything changed.
Paige Birgfeld
Paige Birgfeld lived in Grand Junction, Colorado, which is a small, picturesque city. People considered Paige to be a superwoman. She dedicated her life to her children, and she worked very hard. After her husband became violent with her, she divorced him and moved on to make sure that she and her three children still had a peaceful and happy life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as she hoped.
Life After Divorce
After her divorce, Paige needed to find a way to get by without her husband’s income. She didn’t want her children’s lifestyle to change at all, so she had to figure out a way to supplement her income. To make ends meet, she tried several endeavors, including selling cooking supplies, selling nursing slings, and teaching dance classes to children. She was managing several businesses when she realized that she needed more. She wanted to find love again.
An Old Love
Rob was Paige’s second husband. Her first husband, Howard Ron Biegler, was a man that she dated in high school. They were high school sweethearts, but they got married too young. This was part of the reason that their marriage didn’t last. The divorce was amicable, and they stayed in contact after the divorce. When Paige and Ron divorced, she and Howard reconnected romantically, and they planned to have a “second” first date.
A Romantic Picnic
Paige and Howard didn’t want to have a typical first date. They had already done the dinner and movie things, so they decided to do something more romantic. They were going to have a picnic at the most scenic spot they could find. The plan was to meet up in Eagle, Colorado, which was about a two-hour drive from Paige’s home. They were both excited to reconnect after all those years. The picnic took place on June 28, 2007. It was a beautiful day, and they enjoyed each other’s company. When it started getting dark, they decided to say goodbye, and Paige headed home. Paige wanted to get back in time to kiss her children goodnight. When she was almost home, Howard called her to make sure that she got home, alright. She told him that she was fine, and she was almost home. That is the last time anyone heard from Paige again.
No Word From Paige
It got later and later, and Paige’s children had no idea where she was. It wasn’t like her to go so long without checking in. By 11 pm, her children were very worried. Her daughter called her cell phone, hoping that she would answer and let them know where they were. Unfortunately, the call went to voicemail. She left a message from her mother, letting her know that she and her siblings were worried.
The date was on a Thursday, and on Saturday, she still wasn’t home. Everyone in her life was frantically trying to get in touch with her, including Howard and her ex-husband, Rob. Finally, the children’s babysitter, Jess, who had been caring for them for days called the police.
Paige’s Car
After searching for signs of Paige, the police found her car three miles from her home. Her body wasn’t inside, and it was burned out. The police believed that this was done to hide any evidence from here whereabouts. Her phone and purse were missing, but they did find a day planner. The police hoped that this would give them some information about where she could be. The planner survived the fire, but the police discovered that the last four pages were torn out as if someone didn’t want the police to know who Paige would be spending the next few days with. Another red flag was the driver’s seat. It was pushed back as far as it could go. Paige would never have been able to reach the pedals with the seat so far back. The police believed that someone else was driving.
Ground Search and Home Search
While the police were examining Paige’s car, there was a search going on of the area. They search expanded through all of Mesa Country, and there were plenty of places to hide. Police, search dogs, and volunteers were searching the area looking for Paige. They even had divers in the water searching the Gunnison River. Along the road, they discovered Paige’s things littered all along Highway 50. They found her checkbook and her children’s medical cards. They weren’t sure why someone would throw these things on the road. At the same time, the police were searching Paige’s house for clues. This was when they found about Paige’s dark secret.
Double Life
Paige may have been the supermom of Grand Junction, but that wasn’t all she was. Police found out that she was while Carrie was on her picnic with Howard, a man named Jim was texting her, but he was calling her Carrie. Why was Paige using a fake name? Police had trouble finding Jim because he was texting Paige from a prepaid phone. It took some investigating, but they found Jim, but his name was actually Lester Jones. He worked right across from where Paige’s car was found.
Interrogating Lester
After interrogating Lester, they found out that he was a career criminal. They also found out that Paige was an escort, who went by the name Carrie. It all made sense now. Carrie turned to being an escort to make ends meet, and they were sure that Lester had something to do with her disappearance. Five years after her disappearance, Paige’s body was found by a hiker. It wasn’t clear how she died, but it appeared that she put up a fight. Lester was arrested, but there was a mistrial. During the second trial, he was sentenced to life without parole. Sadly, Paige lost her life, and her children lost their mother as a result of her secret. Colorado Mom’s Double Life Leaves Her Family Destroyed.
