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

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Good question, I will go back and see what we have, not a lot of I remember correctly,but that only happens infrequently now... Thank you always appreciate your take on things
 
Luckyzmom said:
Excellent as always EA , you take us down many paths , thanks very much.Not sure the SO thought this case urgent though I will go back and check it out again
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Its maddening when LE doesn't give enough attention to certain cases, but you know after enough time at WS you see how clearly not all cases are created equal in LE's eyes.
 
inmyhumbleopinion said:
I wasn’t able to, either. Hopefully, ArcadeKris comes back.

One thing I find interesting:

As most MSM articles on Paul’s disappearance do, Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office’s FB page says “His [Paul’s] vehicle was located in Reed Point Sunday evening, April 29th, 2018.”

Stillwater County Sheriff's Office

However:

“At approximately 12:23 p.m. the following day, a Stillwater County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a call about Batson’s abandoned 2016 Dodge Charger that was parked on the street across from the gas station in Reed Point. Batavia, Ill., police were contacted in an effort to locate a phone number, but a number was not found. The deputy wrote on the car’s window for Batson to call the sheriff’s office.

At 8:35 p.m., dispatch got a ‘delayed hit’ on the car, and learned the owner had been reported as missing by the Bozeman PD the previous day. A deputy returned to the location and noted the vehicle was “extremely clean” and the only items missing appeared to be Batson’s cell phone and his wallet. People in the area were questioned, but none remembered seeing a man that matched Batson’s description.

The car was impounded and a search for Batson was launched immediately.” (BBM)

Without a Trace

So how do LE know Paul’s car was already in Reed Point Sunday evening when they weren’t made aware of it until 12:23 p.m. the next day? Perhaps it was caught on camera, possibly belonging to the gas station across the street.

Also:

“Batson was last heard from at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, when he told his girlfriend he was at the Bozeman Public Library and had a meeting with the Bozeman Postal Service the following morning, April 30, according to police reports. (BBM)

Without a Trace

And:

“Batson last sent a text to his girlfriend in Illinois on Sunday from Montana, Batson-List said. There haven't been any texts or phone calls since. (BBM)

Batson's girlfriend reported him missing after speaking with Batson's family and calling hospitals and hotels in the Bozeman area, Batson-List said.”

Batavia man missing under suspicious circumstances in Montana

I wonder if Paul said something concerning in the text. Had he picked up a hitchhiker? Did he sound despondent? It would have been sent after they spoke around 4 p.m. on Sunday when he said he was at the library in Bozeman, and she reported him missing the same night.

It sounds like maybe there was something in that text the girlfriend immediately found concerning.
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Bringing this forward it seems strange from the first contacts LE had , every had a different take on these situations, but you can go back.. all that time is lost and wasted. (, Sorry that is my gripe I guess with missing cases) what's hinky to some is not to others MOO
 
ArcadeKris said:
I am in this town right now. They have been up and down the river and ate currently there with boats and dogs. This man's oldest Son has been here wandering around just hoping for any information. I can honestly say I do not believe Paul Batson ever made it to Reed Point. Yes his car was abandoned here but I do not believe he was still in it at the time. The only surveillance they have is from the small gas station and the footage was terrible. Interestingly enough, you do see the car pull into the space at the post office but then the feed just stopped recording for 5 minutes and when it starts again no one is in the vehicle. No items of value were stolen from the vehicle either. His cell phone had been dead for 4 hours before the car arrived here, yet there was a working charger in the car. It's a very suspicious case and the fact that you can't take a dump here without neighbors knowing makes it even more odd because this was at 7:09 pm and no one remembers seeing anything...
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bringing this forward this poster made only 3 posts early on. Please check them out when you get a chance, tell me what you think. Won't say more now. TIA
 
Luckyzmom said:
bringing this forward this poster made only 3 posts early on. Please check them out when you get a chance, tell me what you think. Won't say more now. TIA
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My take is that unless the source is verified, I would take the information with a grain of salt.

For instance, the post refers to a "space in the post office parking lot." Yet the Charley Project page says it was "roadside." If you look at the area on Google Street View, You see there's a gravel portion on the side of the road easy to pull to. I'm guessing the vehicle was found merely parked to the side of the main drag.

Also, with trees in the boulevard, I would assume it to be unlikely a camera from across the street could even see anything in the post office lot.

And let's talk about the camera. Is there any source other than this post that there's any camera footage? Looking at the station on Street View, I only see one object on the gas station that appears to be a camera, and it is pointed at the propane exchange shed. Am I missing something? Possible. But I would guess they have camera inside and not outside.

I believe this is also the source of the idea that the keys were found outside of the vehicle. Do we have a verified source of that?
 
The only reason I can think of for the car to be parked in that spot is that whoever parked it there wanted it to be found right away. As has been pointed out, there are plenty of busy parking lots and so forth in the Bozeman area where it could have been parked and not noticed for weeks. And there are hundreds of dirt roads leading out into the plains or back into the foothills where a car might not be found for years. But it's left in a public place in a small town, with the keys right next to it.
 
Elliot_Alderson said:
Quick question for you .. just for clarification, Paul's vehicle parked AT the gas station and the camera in question that blanked out was located AT the post office, correct? I'm assuming LE could tell if the camera was purposefully disabled or footage deleted. If they can't, I'd be investigating everyone with access to it.
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If the camera was working, which can be sketchy with the constant wind in Reed Point. It was probably aimed at the propane tank, gas station. If it wasn't working, I wouldn't see too much into that.
 
I wonder how far the Waterhole Saloon is from where Paul's car was found and if he possibly went there before disappearing.
 
I'd like more reliable, verified sources for the following things that have become "assumptions" throughout this thread, until then, I'd assume these to not be true:
  1. Security footage exists
  2. Gap in security footage
  3. Keys found next to car
  4. Car found in "spot" in PO parking lot
My speculation (and that's all it is) is that there is no footage, and definitely no nefarious Nixon-esque "gap" in the footage. Just looking at Street View, the only object on the gas station that looks like a camera is one pointed at the propane. Again, maybe there is a camera I don't see, maybe there are cameras on the post office, I have no information, just my own thoughts.

I doubt the car was *in* the post office lot. It's described as being "roadside" which would make me think it's in the gravel strip next to Division St, the main drag in Reed Point. Also, I haven't seen a LE reference to the keys being next to the car.

Things we do know:
  1. Car found roadside
  2. Travel bag inside, phone charger in car
  3. Car described as "extremely clean"
  4. Wallet and cell phone not in car
According to the Stillwater News on June 28, 2018, all leads have been exhausted "locally." Bozeman police say criminal activity is not suspected, though his car being found in Reed Point after he was last seen in Bozeman is "a suspicious element." No activity on bank accounts, social media, or his phone.
 
Thinking of slot of our missing and their families, always in my prayers. Can't imagine how hard it is to get through holidays with family hope there is some answers for the family and friends soon MOO Merry Christmas to you all
 
With all this, yet Paul is still missing. He fell off the face of the earth, it seems.

Considering the car is on one of the only obvious places in Reed Point, that can’t be an accident, and it probably isn’t Paul who left it there. I think we have to go back to the placement of Paul in Bozeman because nothing else makes sense. It almost sounds like the car was dumped there. And there would almost have to be someone else involved to get out of Reed Point and back to Bozeman.

Paul has dinner in Bozeman. I’m starting to think he ran into foul play there. IMO
 
Seajay said:
With all this, yet Paul is still missing. He fell off the face of the earth, it seems.

Considering the car is on one of the only obvious places in Reed Point, that can’t be an accident, and it probably isn’t Paul who left it there. I think we have to go back to the placement of Paul in Bozeman because nothing else makes sense. It almost sounds like the car was dumped there. And there would almost have to be someone else involved to get out of Reed Point and back to Bozeman.

Paul has dinner in Bozeman. I’m starting to think he ran into foul play there. IMO
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Does anyone know where he stayed in Bozeman? Where he got gas? Where was the last charge on his credit card? Did he stop anywhere else? Livingston?

It would be interesting to see the pictures on his cellphone, and track where he was...

If anyone can get this stuff, let me know. Maybe his family members can obtain that information.
 
dave said:
I'd like more reliable, verified sources for the following things that have become "assumptions" throughout this thread, until then, I'd assume these to not be true:
  1. Security footage exists
  2. Gap in security footage
  3. Keys found next to car
  4. Car found in "spot" in PO parking lot
My speculation (and that's all it is) is that there is no footage, and definitely no nefarious Nixon-esque "gap" in the footage. Just looking at Street View, the only object on the gas station that looks like a camera is one pointed at the propane. Again, maybe there is a camera I don't see, maybe there are cameras on the post office, I have no information, just my own thoughts.

I doubt the car was *in* the post office lot. It's described as being "roadside" which would make me think it's in the gravel strip next to Division St, the main drag in Reed Point. Also, I haven't seen a LE reference to the keys being next to the car.

Things we do know:
  1. Car found roadside
  2. Travel bag inside, phone charger in car
  3. Car described as "extremely clean"
  4. Wallet and cell phone not in car
According to the Stillwater News on June 28, 2018, all leads have been exhausted "locally." Bozeman police say criminal activity is not suspected, though his car being found in Reed Point after he was last seen in Bozeman is "a suspicious element." No activity on bank accounts, social media, or his phone.
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Are you local?
 
For all we know, Paul could have been communicating with a lady in the Bozeman area for quite awhile and decided to move in with her and go completely off grid.

Let's not forget he did disappear once before years ago.
 
rob68 said:
For all we know, Paul could have been communicating with a lady in the Bozeman area for quite awhile and decided to move in with her and go completely off grid.

Let's not forget he did disappear once before years ago.
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I must have missed that- what were the circumstances of his previous disappearance? Tia
 
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