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| Paige Johnson |
It has been nearly two years since Covington teenager Paige Johnson disappeared, but even now signs with her picture on them still pop up in windows across town as some hold on to hope that she may still be found. On Thursday evening this week, however, what had seemed like a cold case reemerged with the urgency as when the case was new. The Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Office tells the story:
Late Thursday evening, Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders was contacted by a prosecutor from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio about information obtained by Ohio law enforcement resulting in a possible new lead in the investigation into the disappearance of 17 year old Paige Johnson of Florence. The phone call resulted in an early morning meeting between Sanders, Covington Police Detective Bryan Frodge, and representatives from the US Attorneys Office, Hamilton County Prosecutors Office, Norwood (OH) Police, and the US Secret Service. By lunchtime, three prosecutors, three detectives, and four Secret Service Agents were departing on a three hour drive to a farm just outside of Barbourville in Knox County, Kentucky, in hopes of finding Paige.
Upon arriving in Knox County, the contingent of local authorities were met by Knox County Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele, Barbourville Police, Knox County Sheriff's Dept, and KY State Police. Investigators pinpointed the exact location provided in the new lead and found it was actually in a wooded area just off of KY229, near the farm. An evidence collection team of Troopers from KSP Post 10 in Harlan led the search as investigators looked for anything that might resemble a shallow grave. Law enforcement officers cleared a very large area of brush and overgrowth. After sifting through bucket after bucket of dirt turned up nothing, a backhoe was called in to slowly unearth the entire area. Before the search ended, shortly after midnight, investigators had dug 6 to 8 feet deep in an area about the size of an Olympic swimming pool with no luck in finding any sign of Paige.
Sanders called the search "frustrating in its' lack of fruition, but impressive in scope, cooperation, and effort." Sanders said the information received was obviously not accurate in its exact location but he would not rule out the possibility Paige Johnson's body is in Knox County. "Paige could still be close by but I assure you she's not where we were lead to believe," said Sanders. "About thirty prosecutors, police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, and Secret Service agents, along with the Knox County Coroner and his brother, gave up their Friday nights to dig up that land without hesitation. We even had KSP troopers who lived nearby stop and pitch in on their own time," said Sanders.
Covington Police Chief Spike Jones said: "I want to sincerely thank every agency and their personnel who contributed to this effort. A great many resources were devoted to this search but they were not wasted. As we approach the two year anniversary of Paige's disappearance, it's important for the public and Paige's family to know we have not given up! Most importantly, the person or persons out there who know where Paige is need to realize we will not give up till we bring Paige home!" Sanders and Jones both emphasized that anyone with information about Paige's whereabouts would be much better off coming forward now to assist authorities, rather than waiting to be caught.
Paige Johnson went missing September 23, 2010. Anyone with information should call Covington Police at (859) 292-2222 or contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
***Note: The specific information received by Ohio law enforcement is part of an on-going, unrelated investigation that could be compromised by further comment. As such, no additional details on the nature and/or source of the information will be released.***
Every one needs to look at Jaco Bumpes he was last to be seen with her rumor has it he druged her made her od and the dispose of her body.
ReplyDelete@ Laura that is what I heard too, she OD'ed on herion, Bumpass and his cronie got scared, and dumped her body...
DeleteVery interesting that you say that, Laura. Who lives down there in that area 3 hours away? Early days someone posted that Paige was living in Corbin with her grandmother, and wasn't that an aunt who invited someone down to Harlan to look at the beautiful mountains and cliffs in that nice threatening manner of hers? Noticed PD from Harlan were helping look. Also noticed that place they are looking seems to be about 15 miles East of Corbin. Strange she would be all the way down there, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds just like Linda Bumpass, is this you Linda? I thought we were friends, and I still invite you to come and visit my beautiful mountains, but you didn't get your story straight, I was born and raised in Partridge KY, wow, did I ever threaten you? I am shocked at your lunatic comment. My name is Mary Blair, I am Paige's Great Aunt, none of our family lives in Corbin, and, never has, and as for being murderers, we don't tolerate that, neither do we tolerate rude behavior.
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ReplyDeleteNot claiming that the family had anything at all to do with Paige's disappearance here, but that perhaps a third party might be most likely IF she's found in the area they're looking now. Why? Well, part of the big case against Jacob was the fact that his cell phone didn't ping off towers where he claimed he was that night. The 'infamous' tower pings put him what? Forty-five minutes to an hour north of Covington? So what? He then drove four hours south and then three hours back? That makes no sense. Nor does the idea that something happened to her while she was with him and that he waited to drive those three to four hours south until another day. Following the advice of your attorney is not against the law and I'm willing to bet that Jacob's has told him to keep his mouth shut and not because he's necessarily guilty but because of this: Anything you say can and WILL be held against you in a court of law. They've already tried to point the blame finger at him via 'blood like substances' found in the sink that turned out to not be blood, trace amounts of blood found in the seat of his brother's car, cell phone pings? As difficult as it is to swallow and as hard as it is for this young girl's family, keeping his mouth shut is in Jacob's best interest in this mess even if he's completely innocent of all wrong-doing in her disappearance.
ReplyDeletePaige does not have a grandmother in Corbin. Paige never had a grandmother in Corbin. Paige never lived in Corbin. Also, the distance between Corbin and Lecher County, which is where Paige's family is actually from, is not much less than the distance between Covington and Corbin. So that takes the wind out of the sails of what you are obviously trying to imply here, which is that someone from her family had something to do with it, what, with Corbin being so close to where they live. Except it's not. Lastly, the "threatening aunt" doesn't live in Harlan County, nor Lecher County, nor Corbin, nor anywhere near Southeastern Kentucky, actually. She lives in Indiana. Your efforts to sew doubt and cast blame away are, as always, entertaining.
ReplyDeletefunny a 3 second search showed me 3 relitives that live in corbin ....
ReplyDeleteOh really, which of my relatives live there? Must be some unknown one.
Delete^ no doubt, I can google my name and it tells me I live in Bolder, CO, Sarasota, FL and some odd town in Texas, which I'm sad to say I live in Covington, KY and the reletives listed are NONE of mine...
DeleteFunny because I think we know who our family is and where they live. We do not have family in Corbin or Barbourville.
ReplyDeleteU all need 2 stop fighting lets bring paige home this is about her coming home safe shes been missing almost 2 years now I pray every day she is safe I dont think paiges family had anything 2 do with her diapperance its all jacob bumpass and his mother linda is covering it up for him. BRING PAIGE HOME
ReplyDeleteRenee, I am Paige's Great Aunt, I would know if I have family in that area, I am the threatening AUNT of Donna, according to cincinnati7, which can only be Linda Bumpass, or one of her followers, Jacob spent time in jail in Pineville on a prison or jail farm. Besides this, no one will tell me where I have family, and not know JACK about us. Linda has always tried to sway everyone away from Jacob, and, put it back toward the family.
Deletelast time i checked cumberland was VERY close to corbin ....... check and mate !
DeleteWhy don't you map quest Partridge to Corbin and see how far that is??? It is NOT VERY CLOSE!!!! And even if it was, which it isn't, so what??? And another thing I would like to know why you have done 3 searches on our relatives and claim we have them in Corbin??? I dam well know we DON"T have relatives in Corbin!!!! Who are you anyway?? Do you have something to do with my daughters disappearance??? Why do you not give your name????
DeleteOn what planet of incredible delusion is a two-hour drive very close? Is it the planet where spurious chess metaphors are appropriate for use by someone who can't figure out things like basic distances? If a two-hour drive is a check mate, then what is a two and a half hour drive, like the one from Covington? What is a forty-five minute drive like the one from Pineville? Hell, let's not rule out the dancing space monkeys, who could have made the trip from some "very close" neighborhood in outer space! If you want to pretend like there's a reason why Paige's family should be held to suspicion regarding her disappearance, at least stick to actual Earth logic. If not, you might as well just say that someone drove her across the ocean to Switzerland and she fell into a rip in the space-time continuum caused by the Large Hadron Collider. Just as plausible. After all, it's only a "very close" forty-five hundred miles away.
DeleteI think everyone involved in this argument needs to take a step back and pay attention to what's said in this article and in other news surrounding all of this. US Attorney's Office? Secret Service? Some ongoing investigation that no one's saying anything about? It sounds like it goes way beyond her family and Jacob Bumpass. People close to her need to really start asking themselves what this little girl could possibly have run afoul of that would warrant a search for her being joined by the US Attorney's Office and the Secret Service.
ReplyDeleteI can think of two things: Some sort of major drug operation or human trafficking.
Before anyone starts screaming that I'm painting Paige in a bad light or whatever, I'm not. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can happen to anyone, especially teenagers who think that the world is theirs to own, that they're invincible, and that nothing will ever happen to them.
I think trying to place blame on the family is off base, but especially after this new development, I also feel that the family continuing to focus entirely on Jacob Bumpass is short sighted.
I do agree wholeheartedly that, yes, everyone needs to stop fighting and bring Paige home even if doing so includes asking the hard questions like: What kind of mess did this little girl get caught in the middle of that warrants this sort of big, broad scale involvement and investigation.
Mikal,
DeleteThis is Donna Johnson. I am Paige's mother. I was just wondering if you knew that Jacob Bumpass spent time in a jail in Pineville, Ky, before he knew my daughter. Pineville is very close to the area they are searching. During his incarceration, he was allowed to roam the grounds and fish. Monday through Friday he was able to leave the facility to do work release on local farms and forestry work. His mother wrote all about it on her CNN blog. It seems to be a huge coincidence that he knew the area and now they are searching there. He would have thought it would be a good place to take her for nobody would look there. This is what I truly believe. I spoke with Jacob shortly after Paige went missing and he wouldn't even look me in the eye. He also seemed nervous and he rushed me off. Does that sound like someone that was supposed to be a friend to Paige? His cell phone proves that he lied since he was never in Covington. This is why I can't look past Jacob.
I do agree Mikal I have heard alot of rumors over the last almost 2 yrs and hardly any include Jacob or family ...
Deleteferrit... you don't find what I wrote to be very interesting???????????? You don't find it a huge coincidence he had been incarcerated and did farm work & forestry work right where they are looking for my daughter??????? Come on you would have to agree... what if where your child, would you then think it a huge coincidence??????
DeleteDonna the thing is everything leads to Jacob if you want it to ! Why not open your mind to what if he really did drop her off on scott st ? have you driven down there and checked your own pings ? I have and it doesnt register an area and if you go closer to the river like say eastern ave it shows wilder , If you go to shell gas station is shows covington , But right there on scott doesnt register an area , his phone pinged in east fork that night so why now are they looking in corbin ? And its still a Jacob thing ? so are there more Pings they noone knows about ? Thats why Im questioning why the Jacob thing you cant be all over ky and ohio in one night when pings dont match up makes no since ! Ok so he did time out there alot of people have Im just saying WHAT IF it wasnt Jacob ??? Im sure you have heard every single rumor if not more than everyone else has lets brainstorm and look at the evidence we have , the Jacob leads have not turned up anything so lets go another route , read the Bill warner theory that makes alot of since and also alot of stories have changed since day 1 yet Jacobs is still the same ????? I know he is an easy one to blame being the last to see her but being in cov that time of night walking alone is not a good thing either there are alot of sickos out there and alot of registered sex offenders in that area ! Im deff not taking sides but Blaming one person isnt finding her now is it ? I want more than anything for your daughter to be found believe me I do ! I couldnt imagine the heartache your going through each and every day , Hell Donna I would search til the end of time to bring her home for you Im not attacking you, the reason why I have done reasearch in the corbin area is to find out why there ? why all eyes on eastfork then all of a sudden corbin ? I wish I knew where Paige was bc I would love to call you and say Donna I found her !! It breaks my heart that almost 2 yrs later she is still out there somewhere , Instead of having teams of paige side / Jacob side we need to be nuteral and just find this baby and bring her home , go back to the begining and look for clues with fresh eyes everything that was dismissed bc it didnt include Jacob's name , Its easy to blame him bc he was the last to see her but WHAT IF Donna WHAT IF it wasnt him , I know you said he couldnt look you in the eyes youve said that , what if he couldnt look at you bc he feels like its his fault for dropping her off and not taking her straight to the house or where ever she was headed that night from what Ive heard that boy was infatuated with her I dont think he would hurt her But I dont know either of them Ive just seen pictures of them together and you can see the love in his eyes and the happiness in her eyes , Its a messed up situation and I wish I could just rewind time so you could just say no paige your not going out tonight or something like that Im sure you have said that yourself , Im always praying for your family and I hope this has a happy ending ...
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that you could get record of you own cell phone pings. I know it took a while for the police to get the phone company to get it for them ,it was a procedure they had to go through because I remember having to wait. She may have very well still been alive when they were in east fort. I dont know of too many pings after that just a few and back to his house. It is very possible that something happened between east fort and home and then he took her down there and left his phone at home.Another thing that really bothers me is that he didn't take her straight to Brittany's door, he admitted giving her beer what kind of man is he to get a young girl drunk and then let her out in a dark and dangerous area???? Why not make sure she got to where she was going safely???? I tell you why ...it is because he never dropped her off in Covington ,we WOULD have taken her to the door!!! But lets just say for the sake of argument that he got an underage girl drunk and just let her out on some dark corner, in my eyes he IS responsible for what ever happened to her!!! But I do agree he can debate it all day long and that is not getting us nowhere. We will just have to wait and hope and pray that the whole truth will come out and I do believe that it will very soon.
ReplyDeleteEven with facebook if you post by your cell phone turn your location on and send yourself a message it will give the area per tower ping but yes you can check your own pings depending on your phone there is gps gives location and if you call your cell provider they can send you a print out , They probably had to wait on warrents to get his pings that may be why it took so long , The truth will always come out I just hope its sooner than later bless your heart
ReplyDeleteAll are out in full force here. Mary, would you care to share again what you said on a forum regarding Donna's whereabouts that night? There ferrit is thinking she would say anything different that night when you said she was in Indiana with the rest of you. The boyfriend tells it that he had to insist her to come back from Indiana to even sign the missing paperwork the next day. Have to wonder about that news clip on youtube then where Donna was there when Paige came in. How did that happen if she was in Indiana with the rest of you in your own words? Surely you can't hold it against any for noticing what you said. Several have said Donna wasn't there, so why the news video then? Is well near a given that she wasn't in Florence that night, but then why tell that story to the news? How does that make since? Ten o'clock she said it was. Her number one accused person was on the other end of the county with responsible adults present (not related to him so no need to accuse) after that time, so how and why did someone who wasn't there feel the need to say they were and give the time as 10pm? Why lie?????
ReplyDeleteCould be the news cameramen didn't know there was a time stamped document showing the number one accused person as indisputably elsewhere at the time stated on camera to the news. Bet the one talking on camera didn't know what was said was impossible either. And that was before several stating Donna was in Indiana. So there you have it. Why is what people are asking. Why? Why put such a heart wretching untrue story into the Cincinnati area news? Care to explain, Mary? Wasn't it you who said family always sticks together. With the rest of us watching rather bewildered, would you care to offer an explanation?
ReplyDeleteThe truth will eventually out. Would bet on it being ugly in the utmost. I watched while people were attacked for saying they saw her. Watched while young people's jobs and college was targeted. In other words, shut up or be expelled. Ugly ugly ugly. Agree with us or suffer the consequences. Why? Why? Why? Watched while people actually put online why Paige's reward for information was spent on other things by her family. WHO does that? It will never be understood by some of us who over our dead bodies would spend the reward for information on our missing child. It just can't be understood. Understand, Mary? CAN'T be understood.
ReplyDeleteI was there the night Paige left. Thinking she was with Briittany I went to Indiana the following morning. When I called Brittany to check on her Brittany said she never showed up. I came right back. When I returned Brittany had already filed the police report. I'm willing to take a liar detector test as is my whole family. What about you and your sons? Will you take one? Wait your son has to refused to take one. Why don't you and your sons meet me at the police station and we will all take one. Maybe this way you can stop your lying. Your crazy stories are nothing but bull. Please please please meet me and let's do this lie detector test. Then we can post the results on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteEven IF Jacob dropped Paige off in Covington he is still guilty. Guilty for being with a girl who had just turned 17. Guilty for giving her alcohol. Guilty for dropping her off in a not soo good area by herself. What grown man hangs around with underage girls? Not a good responsible guy. They were friends right? What kind of friend does that? What kind of friend doesn't help the police locate his missing friend? What kind of friend gets a lawyer before cooperating with police? You claimed he was being mistreated because of his Indian heritage. Maybe he was treated like a criminal because he has a criminal background. He has been in jail. He was on probation. He is the last known person to have contact with missing girl Paige Johnson.
ReplyDeleteYou pretend that you know so much about Donna and her family. Yet every time you talk about them you end up telling half truths. You have no idea what you are talking about when you accuse Donna of miss using funds for the reward. Even after somebody sets the record straight for you, you still accuse. You have no idea what Donna has been thru. Losing her child, losing her job, losing her home. I keep telling Donna that you are not even worth her time. When the ugly truth does comes out this family will still find Jacob guilty. Jacob has done nothing but hinder the investigation to find Paige. He is in jail now because of his own actions. He and he alone violated his own parole. Not us not Paige. Maybe people in Jacobs life shouldn't have enabled him so much. It seems like he just doesn't care about consequences.