They Saw Her As The Perfect Mom
Paige Birgfeld was thought to be the perfect mom by everyone who knew her. She hadn't had an easy life: after being divorced twice, she had no other option than juggling multiple jobs to provide for her children.
She was regarded as an example of strength, courage, and virtue. But after her mysterious disappearance, the truth started coming out: she had a secret life that nobody knew about.
Something To Hide
For the most part, we think that the people close to us don't have a lot to hide. We think of their lives as pretty simple and mundane, just like ours.
Think about your closest neighbor or friend: if you had to nail them down to a description, you would mention their job, their hobbies, or how they carry themselves, right? You just assume that what you see is what you get. But that isn't always the case.
Secrets
More people than we think conceals secrets that we couldn't even begin to imagine. That's natural: everyone who is up to something gruesome, heinous, or just hard to understand by society will do their best to cover their tracks.
But the perfect crime doesn't exist. And at any moment, something can happen that may uncover one's darkest secrets. That's what happened to Paige Birgfeld.
The Story Of Paige Birgfeld
Paige was born and raised in Eagle, Colorado. She was a 34-year-old single mother of three kids. It's not hard to guess that her life was no picnic. She had to do anything it took to survive and take care of her children.
She was in a bad situation. Her second divorce had left her with nothing but trauma and regret. But it could have been way, way worse.
Paige’s Ex-Husband
Paige's second husband, the father of her children, was a man named Rob Dixon. He was a problematic individual. He would often go into rage fits, threaten Page and even his own children.
"Dixon is a person that's kind of two personalities. We think of him as 'Good Rob' and 'Bad Rob.' At the first part, it was 100-percent Good Rob, and I think as his financial situation deteriorated, we saw a lot more of Bad Rob," Paige's dad would tell the press years later.
It Got Worse
After a few years together, the situation was unbearable for Paige. So she divorced Dixon, took her children with her, and started and focused on only one thing: providing for them.
She knew it wouldn't be easy. But she couldn't live anymore with that man, for the sake of her and her children's lives. So her journey started.
Struggle
And it wasn't easy. Her second divorce took place at a time of strong economic recession. It was hard to find a job, and it was harder to hold it for longer than a few months.
But regardless of the hardships, she always found a way to do the most out of her situation and make sure that her kids grew up healthy and happy. But in the process, she would have to do certain things.
Different Jobs
During a period of her life, Paige was always juggling different jobs and sources of income. No matter how hard her situation was or whether her contract had ended, she always found a new way to pay the bills.
She worked as a cashier and as a waitress. She sold Pampered Chef products and baby slings. She flipped houses. But eventually, things changed.
Suddenly She Was Rich
Paige dropped all her known jobs. And at the same time, she started making a lot more money. Suddenly, she could afford what used to be too expensive when she was struggling. But no one knew where that money came from.
Paige was riding high, and it seemed impossible to nail down what was her source of income now. She remained silent about it, and all her acquaintances were bewildered. But they were even more shocked by what happened shortly after.
She Disappeared
One day, Paige disappeared without a trace. She just vanished from the face of the Earth. Immediately, everyone close to her was alarmed.
And quickly, they started wondering if it might be related to Paige's sudden bout of wealth and lavishness. And when the police stepped in, they found out that these suspicions were more accurate than one might imagine.
Paige’s Secret Life
They found out that Paige had been running a successful escorting business for months! She had created a company named Models, Inc. She used "Carrie" as a pseudonym so that no one from her daytime, square life could recognize her.
At first, she was just the company owner, took care of the finances, and managed the callgirls who worked for her. But then, she assumed even more responsibilities within the business.
She Got Involved
She also started turning dates with clients or "johns". As a matter of fact, she became the most solicited and sought-after girl in the company. She had some experience in the field; not many people knew about it, but she had worked as an exotic dancer in the past.
In the light of her disappearance, the police suspected that Paige could have been kidnapped by a dangerous client or extorters from an organized crime group. So they started an investigation about it. And immediately, they started considering some specific suspects.
Dixon
Naturally, Dixon, Paige's ex-husband, was one of the first names on the list. Considering their past together, his aggressive character, and the fact that he had seriously threatened Paige before, he seemed like a strong candidate.
But after a while, he was found not guilty. He had a valid alibi. The police started going through Paige's company's regular clients in hopes of finding the one behind her disappearance. And right then, they made an appalling discovery.
Murder
They found Paige's body hidden somewhere in the hills. Now, this wasn't a kidnapping investigation: it was murder.
Right then, the police department started putting all of its manpower in the investigation. They went through each and every "john" that had hired services from Paige's company. And after years of investigation, they found the culprit.
Who Was It?
It was a man named Lester Ralph Jones. He was a regular client of Paige, and he was known by many girls in the business to be an unstable and violent individual.
Jones himself ended up confessing his crime, and he got a life sentence. That didn't bring Paige back to her family and her kids, but at least justice was served.