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

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loreet said:
130 Days Missing. That’s too long for Paul’s family.

There has been no more recent Montana news since the investigation into his disappearance was declared ‘cold.’ I check at least once a week and watch several local papers.

There was an unidentified body found in the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River back in July. I know this is weird, but back when we were determine whether Paul had actually come through Montana (he did, entering on the interstate from the west) it occurred to me that during April the Clark Fork would have been starting to rage. He would have crossed it numerous times. One of my imaginary possible self-harm scenarios was that he left his car in Reed Point and backtracked west by hitchhiking then jumped off a bridge into a different river, the Clark Fork for example. Honestly it seemed a more likely river than the Yellowstone, given his path of travel.
Officials trying to ID body found in Clark Fork River | Local | missoulian.com
I don’t know if this person has been identified. There have been no updates from the Missoula Sheriff’s Department.

I guess it’s like my bear & bacon grease scenario, overly complicated. But the kind of thing I might have done if I wanted to leave some hope for my loved ones or really didn’t want to be found.
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Wait, he came in from the west? I thought he was in Colorado before he went to Bozeman, which would make his most likely route from the south or southeast.
 
cpeacock1 said:
Loreet and MattJ - still no updates on the body found in the river. I did find MSM article about a 70-year-old man who went missing in that area when his boat capsized. Could it be this person?

Body of missing boater found in Clark Fork River

This is from June 2018. So is there another body found? I’m confused now.
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Different body. One of the articles I just found indicated that this individual — thought to be a male, about 6 feet tall — was discovered on July 19 of this year. Thought to have been in the water about 2 months. This article has more detail.
Body pulled from Clark Fork River in Missoula
 
carbuff said:
Wait, he came in from the west? I thought he was in Colorado before he went to Bozeman, which would make his most likely route from the south or southeast.
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This article is the one where I found the information that Paul entered Montana from the west. Though to be more precise now that I read it, we don’t actually know how far west, nor which road he entered the state on. The article mentions that he may have passed through Butte. That’s not much to go on. He may have traveled on I15 to Butte and not passed through Missoula nor crossed the Clark Fork after all. Sorry I made an assumption and presented it as fact. It is definitely worth noting that he did not travel the shortest distance between 2 points coming from Colorado though.
Search continues for missing Illinois man nearly two weeks after his car was found in Reed Point | Local | billingsgazette.com
 
loreet said:
This article is the one where I found the information that Paul entered Montana from the west. Though to be more precise now that I read it, we don’t actually know how far west, nor which road he entered the state on. The article mentions that he may have passed through Butte. That’s not much to go on. He may have traveled on I15 to Butte and not passed through Missoula nor crossed the Clark Fork after all. Sorry I made an assumption and presented it as fact. It is definitely worth noting that he did not travel the shortest distance between 2 points coming from Colorado though.
Search continues for missing Illinois man nearly two weeks after his car was found in Reed Point | Local | billingsgazette.com
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Thanks, yes that does sound like he came up I-15. I suppose he might have taken I-80 to Salt Lake City and then turned north on I-15. It's quite a bit longer but easier driving, and maybe he wanted to see some country.
 
My cousin (in reference to Post #689 & #691/re: cabin get-away) never saw anyone who seemed like could be Paul... but bless her, now she says she can't stop looking around everywhere for him... now if we can just get everyone in the country to do this... and in Canada... and Mexico.
 
carbuff said:
I didn't learn anything interesting while I was in Bozeman. Locals mostly seem to believe he fell into the river by accident and will be found this fall while the water's low.
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Though most locals have a fair bit less information than we on websleuths do — unofficially. If I wasn’t a member on this board and just read the papers I would know nothing about Paul’s keys left behind, the interview on the same day as his scheduled return to work, his previous disappearance. These change things for me a great deal.

Hey a question just occurred to me. I have been picturing the keys outside Paul’s car as his car keys alone, but I wonder if he also dropped his apartment/house keys, work and other keys? Probably ArcadeKris would know.
 
loreet said:
Though most locals have a fair bit less information than we on websleuths do — unofficially. If I wasn’t a member on this board and just read the papers I would know nothing about Paul’s keys left behind, the interview on the same day as his scheduled return to work, his previous disappearance. These change things for me a great deal.

Hey a question just occurred to me. I have been picturing the keys outside Paul’s car as his car keys alone, but I wonder if he also dropped his apartment/house keys, work and other keys? Probably ArcadeKris would know.
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Oh, I missed that Paul went missing before! Can you tell me when and for how long? Good grief, I have been following this thread all along, how did I miss this?!?!?! Thanks!
 
loreet said:
Though most locals have a fair bit less information than we on websleuths do — unofficially. If I wasn’t a member on this board and just read the papers I would know nothing about Paul’s keys left behind, the interview on the same day as his scheduled return to work, his previous disappearance. These change things for me a great deal.

Hey a question just occurred to me. I have been picturing the keys outside Paul’s car as his car keys alone, but I wonder if he also dropped his apartment/house keys, work and other keys? Probably ArcadeKris would know.
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Actually the keys seem to be pretty widely known, at least to my relatives.

I haven't heard a reference to anything other than car keys, but that doesn't mean the other keys weren't on the same ring.
 
Steelslady said:
Oh, I missed that Paul went missing before! Can you tell me when and for how long? Good grief, I have been following this thread all along, how did I miss this?!?!?! Thanks!
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Check out post #583. I don’t want to quote it and get myself or the poster bumped from the thread or forum. So a previous disappearance falls into the ‘unverified rumor’ category and is clearly indicated as such. Myself, I’ve turned a 180 and am relying on information from people who know Paul and have been willing to post here to shape my thoughts.

The following article contradicts that information about a previous disappearance toward the end :
Missing Illinois man case open but cold
 
loreet said:
Check out post #583. I don’t want to quote it and get myself or the poster bumped from the thread or forum. So a previous disappearance falls into the ‘unverified rumor’ category and is clearly indicated as such. Myself, I’ve turned a 180 and am relying on information from people who know Paul and have been willing to post here to shape my thoughts.

The following article contradicts that information about a previous disappearance toward the end :
Missing Illinois man case open but cold
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Thank you. Without knowing why he disappeared for two weeks 20 years ago, I hesitate to think that he left for the same reason. Some people leave during family situations gone bad, break ups, and other things, and he might have needed time to sort things out.

He's been gone for far two long, and this is worrisome, in my opinion. I don't know if self harm happened here, foul play, or an accidental drowning. It's puzzling me that the video tape went out just as the car pulled up, and we didn't get to see if Paul was in the car, or if someone sinister drove the car there and tossed his keys on the ground while harm came to Paul elsewhere.

I can't believe there is no sighting of him what so ever- it's like he just vanished into thin air. Scary!
 
I just wanted to add- he's been gone for over 4 and 1/2 months now. Judging by what folks who knew him personally have said, I just can't believe that he would leave all of his loved ones and friends scared to pieces like this without contacting someone. I pray I am wrong, and I pray he is ok, but this just doesn't seem right to me.

Unless he was involved in something and someone was after him, and he didn't want any harm to come to his loved ones so he left on his own to either escape to protect them or he didn't want to face his loved ones with what he was involved with. So far, we haven't heard anything about say, him having a gambling, drug, or alcohol problem, right? No medical issues? No fights with someone recently?
 
With the info we have (which is always less than we want), this case really strikes me as a planned, voluntary missing...someone who had extra struggles he kept hidden and didn't know how to express/cope. I know it's hard to imagine a really caring person doing this, but the reality is that caring people will sometimes flee, out of shame, stress and anxiety/depression. Sometimes the most caring people will do this, as they just reach an emotional (sometimes mental) breaking point. Then they may not know how to come back... fearing the reaction, or, over time, they break off that former life, in their minds. I think it can be thought of as the way the mind will go -- not a purposeful way to hurt family/friends.

Just my gut feeling, based on the limited facts released. I do think that if the family really thought this was foul play, we would hear more from them. I don't see an accident as much, as the scene at the post office always seemed staged to me -- and it just doesn't make sense to me that he'd drive all the way to that spot right before his big interview (unless he was so stressed that he was doing it to clear his head, but the seemingly staged aspect -- plus calling from the library -- seem more like covering to me)... so if not voluntary missing, then I'm just really hoping this is not a suicide.
 
That's a good point.

I've been at that point in my life--so depressed and despairing that I really, deeply, logically thought that my family would be better off if I was out of the picture. I figured they wouldn't miss me, my troubles and issues, my tantrums, my failure to cope--I was pretty nearly non-functional in everyday life, a robot going through the motions, and it had reached the point where I could see it was damaging my kids. I don't think I would have killed myself, probably would have just walked, and become a homeless itinerant. My middlest called me back just by running to me with a big hug, but if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here now.
 
carbuff said:
That's a good point.

I've been at that point in my life--so depressed and despairing that I really, deeply, logically thought that my family would be better off if I was out of the picture. I figured they wouldn't miss me, my troubles and issues, my tantrums, my failure to cope--I was pretty nearly non-functional in everyday life, a robot going through the motions, and it had reached the point where I could see it was damaging my kids. I don't think I would have killed myself, probably would have just walked, and become a homeless itinerant. My middlest called me back just by running to me with a big hug, but if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here now.
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Thanks for being vulnerable enough to share this on the thread, carbuff. I think it goes a long way in helping others understand how this could occur. I really think that the "others would be better off without me/I'm a burden" thinking process some go to can't be overstated. It makes me wish everyone on the planet would watch "It's a Wonderful Life" daily, to combat this. Okay, *everyone* on the planet -- and *daily* -- is probably a bit much, lol. But I'm thinking that you guys know what I mean.:)

...And I'm so very glad you got that incredible hug, carbuff!!
 
ThinkThinkThink said:
Thanks for being vulnerable enough to share this on the thread, carbuff. I think it goes a long way in helping others understand how this could occur. I really think that the "others would be better off without me/I'm a burden" thinking process some go to can't be overstated. It makes me wish everyone on the planet would watch "It's a Wonderful Life" daily, to combat this. Okay, *everyone* on the planet -- and *daily* -- is probably a bit much, lol. But I'm thinking that you guys know what I mean.:)

...And I'm so very glad you got that incredible hug, carbuff!!
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It really was a miracle, of the small everyday sort. He wasn't normally an affectionate child and because of schedules, I wasn't usually the one who picked him up after school. The world didn't look any better after that, but it seemed like it was worth doing the work, that maybe it would make a difference. I guess that's the plot of Wonderful Life, too.

I should add that despite my perception of how unfunctional I was, my friends will tell you they had no clue I was depressed. I was pretty good at the happy face most of the time...
 
carbuff said:
That's a good point.

I've been at that point in my life--so depressed and despairing that I really, deeply, logically thought that my family would be better off if I was out of the picture. I figured they wouldn't miss me, my troubles and issues, my tantrums, my failure to cope--I was pretty nearly non-functional in everyday life, a robot going through the motions, and it had reached the point where I could see it was damaging my kids. I don't think I would have killed myself, probably would have just walked, and become a homeless itinerant. My middlest called me back just by running to me with a big hug, but if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here now.
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I want you to know that this post has made me reach out to my husband. He is going through a lot this year and I feel like he is kind of a robot going through the motions some times. He had a call with some online therapist, but refuses to go to one in person. Last night, after I read your post, I told him how much I appreciate him walking our pup and how he's probably going to live at least 12 more years and counts on him for those walks. I could see his eyes light up for the first time since his dad died and he hugged our dog for a long time and promised him he'd be there for him. Everyone needs to feel loved and appreciated and have some kind of purpose for their future. I'm not a huggy person, but I'm going to do better at letting people know what their doing has value to others. Thanks for sharing your little middles gift to you :)
 
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