TX TX - Roxanne Paltauf, 19, Austin, 7 Jul 2006

Rosco said:

I pray for her safe return everyday. Also, pray that billboard will bring in information to LE.

Rosco.

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Hello Rosco. It is so nice to see you here. Thank you for caring, even though you have the pain of Terry and Darleen's murders ever prominent in your life. It is a lot to read; but, there is some very interesting information about Roxy's case here.

KVUE 24 News will be doing a story on the ten o"clock news, and it will include Roxy's billboard and an interview with Liz and family. Let's hope and pray that all of this brings new leads or tips, and that Roxanne is found.


Lion

Roxy's story was very well done and had more details than stories I have seen in the past. And, it was the top story!! I don't know if it is up yet; but, the link is www.KVUE.com . If it is not up yet, it should be up later. Since it was the lead story it should hopefully be easy to navigate to once you go to the site.

Liz and family---YOU ROCK!

Love, hope, and prayers,

Lion

LionRun said:

Roxy's story was very well done and had more details than stories I have seen in the past. And, it was the top story!! I don't know if it is up yet; but, the link is www.KVUE.com . If it is not up yet, it should be up later. Since it was the lead story it should hopefully be easy to navigate to once you go to the site.

Liz and family---YOU ROCK!

Love, hope, and prayers,

Lion

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Story: Mother hopes billboard helps find her daughter


Mother hopes billboard helps find her daughter


[SIZE=-1]08:45 PM CDT on Wednesday, March 21, 2007

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By SHELTON GREEN/KVUE News[/SIZE]
A great big sign is spelling new hope for the family of Roxanne Paltauf. The 18-year-old has been missing for eight months. Now, a local company has donated a billboard on I-35 featuring Roxanne's mysterious disappearance.
The billboard is only a block away from where Roxanne was last seen. Now, her mother is hoping the exposure will bring her daughter back.
KVUE
The family of Roxanne Paltauf is hoping a billboard along I-35 will help bring her home.

"(The billboard is) huge and it's beautiful, just like Roxanne," said Liz Harris, Paltauf's mother.
The space was donated for free by Reagan National Advertising.
Paltauf never came home last July. The 18-year-old's boyfriend, 30-year-old Louis Walls, told the family and police that Paltauf walked away from a North Austin hotel after the couple argued. Police are anxious to talk to anyone who may have seen the couple before, during and after Roxanne's disappeared.
In July, a search by volunteers in the area where Paltauf was last seen turned up nothing. She was also featured on the TV show, "America's Most Wanted" earlier this year. Last week, Paltauf's story appeared in "18-Wheel Angels", a national magazine for truck drivers.
Harris now has high hopes that this latest tool will finally provide the missing piece of the puzzle.
"I think this is a perfect location, especially 5 o'clock traffic, everybody's going to be stopped, they're going to be looking at something, they'll be looking at her and hopefully remember her face, seen her around, find some information that maybe somebody knows where she's at," she said.
Friends and family donated the $1,100 it took to create the artwork.
Call Crimestoppers at 472-TIPS if you know where Roxanne is. Remember, any tip leading to an arrest could mean a reward of up to $1,000.

I just saw this on the news.......I'm so glad to hear this! I hope this will help bring some answers.

Hi LionRun. Thanks for the great welcome. This story has touched me so. My heart goes out to the family. I pray something comes from the billboard. Watched the video. WONDERFUL coverage. I pray a lead or MANY leads come from the TV coverage. Great location.

I will continue to pray for her safe return.

Rosco.

Tears came to my eyes when I heard the news that Roxy's billboard was up, and tears came to my eyes when I saw the coverage on Roxy last night. I took Roxy's photo that is now on the billboard, danced it up a bit and posted in my siggy. Anyone who wants to use it in there siggy or however they like to help find and/or show support for Roxanne is welcome to.

Thank from the bottom of my heart to Reagan National Advertising in Austin, Texas for graciously donating for Roxanne's billboard. Liz mentioned that the location is a place where traffic slows during rush hour and people look around, so now they will see her up there. That sure is true, in fact sometimes I H 35 resembles a big, long parking.

Lion

Hope there are some calls coming in today for Roxy.

Someone out there saw her!

Hello dear sleuthers. The Princess Doe that our Sable indicated a possible to match to Roxanne has been determined not to be her. The dentals do not match. It was an excellent call made by Sable, however. Everything indicated that Princess Doe might have been Roxy, except for the timeline(possible but not probable), and that we didn't know about the dentals, yet. Princess Doe had a nearly or fully identical description to Roxy, so I am very glad she posted.

There are many possible matches made by caring, astute people like Sable, and some of them turn out to be be a match. So, just because in this case there was not a match I hope that does not ever deter people from coming forward with possible matches in Roxy's case or another missing persons's case

So onward we proceed to do all we can to find Roxy and the truth of what happened to her, and to offer support for her loving family. The billboard is awesome, thousands will see it, and the news story resulting from it may open new doors as well. Thank you to each and every person who cares, gives of themselves and offers support to find Roxy and to be there for Liz.

Best to each of you wonderful sleuthers,

Lion

I couldn't have said it better! U da bomb, Lion.
And Sable, kudos to you! You are a true sleuther!

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Why thank you dear friend, rich. And, you are rich--with goodness and dang good research abilities:blowkiss:.

Lion

richandfamous said:

I couldn't have said it better! U da bomb, Lion.
And Sable, kudos to you! You are a true sleuther!

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richandfamous said:

I couldn't have said it better! U da bomb, Lion.
And Sable, kudos to you! You are a true sleuther!

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Thanks Rich... and at least the fact that Princess Doe isn't Roxy means there's still hope that she'll be found safe.

Sable said:

Thanks Rich... and at least the fact that Princess Doe isn't Roxy means there's still hope that she'll be found safe.

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Hi Sable. Yes, the search continues. We are all hoping that Roxy's billboard, and even the news coverage from it brings in just the right tip to solve this.

In the meantime, does anyone have any ideas? One idea I had was to post a big a$$ ad in the Sunday Austin American Statesman(biggest paper in the city--huge on Sunday), with a reward posted and a number for crimestoppers and APD.

I am thinking that it is possible that an innocent party may have seen something that could help LE solve this; however, it may be more likely that someone who knows the person who took her may not want to make themselves known. Crimestoppers offers a cash reward in some cases, and the person can remain anonymous.

Austin Police Department - Missing Persons 512-974-5250

Crimestoppers - 512-472-8477

Crimestoppers (toll free) 1-800-893-8477

Lion

I could have missed this, but have search dogs been used in an attempt to find her? If not, does anyone know how long after someone goes missing that their scent can be tracked?

Sable, I don't think you missed anything. As far as I know there were no SAR dogs used to search for Roxy. There are several specialties an SAR dog can be proficient in. Initially, a dog that trails well may have helped in the urban area where Roxy disappeared from. A proficient dog/handler team may have been able to trail indicate that Roxy was indeed in that hotel room, and which direction she may have gone once she left--even if she didn't leave voluntarily and was carried. If she got into a vehicle whether on her own or she was placed into a vehicle the dog would suddenly lose her scent at that point or at least change his/her behaviour and possibly follow scent for a bit. That might indicate that she left or was taken in a vehicle and what direction she initially headed.

In July, when the heat breaks down the cells shed by the person very quickly, the trail would have been good for about 3 days.

After that, one would need a probable search area and might use a good air scenting dog. An air scenting dog does not need a trail and contamination of a search area is less of a problem. The dog keeps his head off the ground and searches for the scent coming directly from the source--the lost or the missing or the fugitive. It is a good idea to use a dog that has been trained in cadaver work because unfortunately, that is what the team may find. Gandalf, the Shiloh Shepherd who found Michael, the 12 year old boyscout used air scenting, which is how he detected him from across the river.

Years ago, my SAR dog Shep, and I were asked to search for a missing man(Henry), in Boerne, TX. It was day 4, and despite several hundred searchers, The Heidi Search Center, and the entire San Antonio Mounted Police, they could not find him. Shep and I arrived, were debriefed along with all the other wonderful people searching, and we started by doing a hasty search(quick, general search in logical, well traveled areas). Shep alerted less than 10 minutes; but, he wanted to go off into another area that was previously searched. I radioed to base camp that I think he got a hit, and to please reevaluate the search limits to re-check that area.

We did, and Shep found a pair of shoes--men's dress shoes in the middle of the woods. I radioed back again and asked them to please call Henry's wife to ask her if he had nice brown dress shoes, size ? of a particular design. He did. During this time Shep took off and I knew he was on to something. I asked for more searchers. Within 3 minutes Shep found Henry; but; unfortunately, it was too late. A couple of minutes later the San Antonio Mounted Police arrived, and I took Shep from the scene a short distance and played like a crazy woman for his reward. It is very important to do this, because you must help the dog keep a good attitude and reward them. It may look pretty insensitive; but, we must reward our dogs immediately or their attitude may go down hill at the next search.

I didn't know anything about Roxy disappearing until December of 2006, or I would have offered to help sooner. Shep died of cancer several years ago; but, his daughter, Spirit, was also a trained, but retired SAR dog. I was going to bring Spirit out of retirement just for a couple of searches in February; but, she died suddenly and unexpectedly on February 5th. I have one more dog, Falcon, who has had some training; but, he is not mission ready. I wouldn't mind doing a couple of quick searches with him and others if only we had a place to search. There is one area that I have wanted to search for months; but, it is in a bad area, and I will not go with just my dog. I would need for there to be a group of people for safety.

I guess the point of my story is that sometimes an SAR dog team is invaluable in a search, depending on the many variables. And, also, you asked a question about search dogs, and that is one topic I could talk for hours about--as evidenced by my lengthy post. I am sorry if it was a bit wordy to say the least.

Lion

Wow, Lion! That was a great post! I was spellbound...you should write more about your experiences for us.
Like I said, U da bomb.

Lion, why does your post run so far from left to right? It makes it really hard to read cause you have to keep going way over to the right and left to read the whole thing. Just curious as to how that happens? Not being critical but it makes me dizzy running back and forth

Bobbisangel said:

Lion, why does your post run so far from left to right? It makes it really hard to read cause you have to keep going way over to the right and left to read the whole thing. Just curious as to how that happens? Not being critical but it makes me dizzy running back and forth

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Hi Bobbisangel. I don't understand what you mean. I am sorry that is happening, though. Is it just my last, long, post? Or is it all of my posts? On my screen all of the posts are the same as usual, including my post. Am I blowing the margins without realising it, I wonder? If it is something I can fix, I will try.

Lion

Bobbisangel said:

Lion, why does your post run so far from left to right? It makes it really hard to read cause you have to keep going way over to the right and left to read the whole thing. Just curious as to how that happens? Not being critical but it makes me dizzy running back and forth

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I know you weren't asking me but just to be helpful: I think it has something to do with those image links at bottom line of signature section of the posts. They are appearing as one continuous line and that forces the page to be at least as wide as that widest unbroken line.

Just a thought.