Who Took Paige Renkoski? SEARCHLIGHT

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 9 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 83

  • @patrickfaulds5683
    @patrickfaulds5683 4 місяці тому +35

    "We're still waiting for Paige to come home, no matter how little of her there is." What a heartbreaking thing for any mother to have say.

  • @ginatymrak1018
    @ginatymrak1018 4 місяці тому +32

    I remember this case well, since I lived in Michigan at the time just a few counties over. My husband was a sheriff deputy and I was a ER nurse the same age as Paige .I was coming home from a late shift in the ED on I-94 heading into St Clair county and it was snowing hard with very few cars on the interstate at 0100 A car came up behind me and tapped my rear bumper . Prior to this my husband was telling me about a few reports about cars being hit from behind late at night on the interstate . Reading this brought back that incident .I thank the Lord I did not spin out and end up disabled and made it home safely .I hope Paige’s family will someday get closure

  • @CaseyRhyneXoXo
    @CaseyRhyneXoXo 4 місяці тому +21

    I rarely find an old case that I haven't heard of. This is a new one for me. Thanks for all of your research and for sharing!

  • @maryaha7
    @maryaha7 4 місяці тому +13

    John, you're the best true crime researcher on UA-cam! Thanks for all the great work, and God bless you.

  • @tomaszstarling
    @tomaszstarling 4 місяці тому +9

    Thank you for another great SEARCHLIGHT John, you have the best True Crime show. I love the long form videos

  • @rhondakay9630
    @rhondakay9630 4 місяці тому +31

    I live near here. I remember that day! Such a sad story and I think of her a lot!!!!!! I think it was a cop or fake cop....why else would she leave her car???

    • @susieq5270
      @susieq5270 4 місяці тому +4

      Yes, plus since she left her car running, I don't think she was anticipating getting out of her car...rolled down window may be to just speak to someone...lights on, the weather may have been cloudy, foggy that day...

  • @UnBoxLifeWithLori
    @UnBoxLifeWithLori 4 місяці тому +24

    1996 - The Texas case that got me into true crime was a case exactly like this. 17-year-old Jessica Cain missing from 1-45 freeway in Houston, TX. Her car was found running, with the door open, lights on - the glove box open and her wallet open on the front seat. This case went 20-plus years before being solved when a man by the name of William Reece confessed to killing her. He kept a police-type light in his truck and at 10 pm at night pulled her over and abducted and killed her. William Reece is a suspect serial killer. He was from Oklahoma but lived in different places and drove up and down the interstate for his work. **Google William Reece / Jessica Cain - The MO of this case is the same and it might be worth checking to see if he could have been in the area at that time.

    • @theprettycitykitty9302
      @theprettycitykitty9302 4 місяці тому +4

      You are right! Thought of this case right away, but couldn't remember the name if the victim. Thanks!

    • @tessfabled4115
      @tessfabled4115 4 місяці тому +1

      Is Oklahomo an actual place or did you make a typo?

    • @UnBoxLifeWithLori
      @UnBoxLifeWithLori 4 місяці тому +1

      @@tessfabled4115 Typo

    • @NickyBlue99
      @NickyBlue99 Місяць тому

      ​@@tessfabled4115 It's a real place 😮😮😮

  • @hbunnie
    @hbunnie 4 місяці тому +17

    Hope you have a great weekend John & thanks for helping get these cases out there. Hopefully it will help solve some and bring their loved ones a bit of closure ♥️

  • @celestebishop6441
    @celestebishop6441 Місяць тому +2

    Very good coverage of the case. I worked with Paige at the time of her disappearance. I remember having some great conversations with her. She really was beautiful, inside and out. Still so heartbreaking.

  • @cindyhesson9213
    @cindyhesson9213 4 місяці тому +7

    Thank you John for being such a wonderful and caring human being ❤ Prayers for her and her poor family 🙏

  • @VEGASBIGDOGDASHERS
    @VEGASBIGDOGDASHERS 4 місяці тому +12

    A car running on a highway is obviously a crime scene

  • @Lynniescorner
    @Lynniescorner 4 місяці тому +9

    I live about 30 to 45 minutes from there. At that time, and I may not have it all correct, the Folwerville exit didn't have much there. A restaurant and a gas station with a huge lot. I believe this is where M-59 (at this point 59 is a 2 lane road) ends and intersects I-96. Although this area between Brighton (where US-23 that goes north to Flint and south to Ann Arbor) and Lansing is rather rural, the highway is busy, especially after I-696 was finally connected after decades of planning and fighting, just the year before she went missing . Now getting across most parts of the Detroit area was much quicker and easier!
    I said all that to say that although it's country driving, there's still plenty of traffic. Strange place for a crime.
    One other thing. I am like her. I always find an opportunity to kick off my shoes. Didn't matter if I was driving, church or school. Seeing as her shoes were on her side by her seat, it's strange she wouldn't have slipped them back on when she got out of the car. Reason is, who knows what's on the side of the road, glass, nails, etc. If I remember correctly, they were slip ons. That would be one of the few times I'd put my shoes on. That and if I thought the person was a police officer.

  • @ambergriffes6122
    @ambergriffes6122 4 місяці тому +10

    I'm in MI and although I was only 10, distinctly remember this happening. She was friends with my aunt.:😢

  • @doobat708
    @doobat708 4 місяці тому +9

    What a long time to live with such uncertainty and loss. Hopefully, the family gets answers soon.

  • @summerrain7956
    @summerrain7956 4 місяці тому +4

    My prayers go out to her family. I pray they get answers soon🙏🏼

  • @Dr.Gunsmith
    @Dr.Gunsmith 4 місяці тому +5

    These old cases always seem more heartbreaking to me and scary.

  • @DaveGreg100
    @DaveGreg100 4 місяці тому +5

    I have the same car. Darker silver. No. It didn't come with daytime running lights. IIRC that didn't start until the 90s.
    Fascinating case. I clicked on it because of the Olds Calais in the thumbnail.

  • @carmendaniel3734
    @carmendaniel3734 4 місяці тому +7

    So sad. I hope her loved ones get answers. The not knowing must be so hard.😢

  • @emmahobbins2328
    @emmahobbins2328 4 місяці тому +8

    It baffles me why there is no mention of the surrounding area of the highway. I just instantly thought it was someone in a bad place, got out the car and walked away. Have they searched the area near the highway? Was it scrub land, built up? If there was anyone else involved someone would have come forward with information, surely. Especially after 30 years!
    Also, did anyone question her friend she saw that afternoon?
    These old cases are sad, sometimes I think we get hooked onto one scenario because the other is unthinkable that leads to cases to not being solved

  • @rhondakay9630
    @rhondakay9630 4 місяці тому +7

    Thanks for covering this story. So sad

  • @am74343
    @am74343 4 місяці тому +3

    I remember seeing this on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries back in the early 1990s, along with the Angela Hammond abduction case! Very spooky and sinister!

  • @harpchannel8627
    @harpchannel8627 4 місяці тому +4

    My mum always drives with 2 pairs of shoes. Her flat driving shoes (pumps/slip on light trainers) and her heels. She always leaves her driving shoes in the same position as in the photo. So it’s possible Paige planned to exit the car, took off her driving shoes and put her heels or other more formal shoes on. It doesn’t mean she got out barefoot.

  • @emilyflotilla931
    @emilyflotilla931 4 місяці тому +2

    So very sad. SW Michigan here, and I've only heard of this just recently. Thanks for shedding a light on her. It truly sounds like a Maura Murray thing, but her being seen talking to a man lends some extra weirdness to it. Thanks, John

  • @sarahjoines9343
    @sarahjoines9343 4 місяці тому +8

    Very sad

  • @PurplePete763
    @PurplePete763 4 місяці тому +4

    Well done report on this sad case. She sounds like a wonderful lady with a wonderful family. How days she could have called her Father or the Police before getting out of her car and interacting with this person.

  • @dianalarue3685
    @dianalarue3685 4 місяці тому +3

    I've lived in Livingston county my whole life, and I drive this stretch of highway regularly. This incident happened when I was a kid and is still talked about here. If the man Paige was seen talking to, was in fact a black man, this is very signifcant. Cohoctah is very near this area, and was rumoured to be the home to the head of the KKK which was active at the time. Black people didn't live here at the time for obvious reasons. This changed after the head guy retired, and then in the late 90's, Livingston become the fastest growing county in the state. So, the popular theory here was that it was a road rage incident that started in Metro Detroit near the airport and Paige was followed. Thank you for covering this story!

  • @krisshishymishy
    @krisshishymishy 4 місяці тому +8

    This happened the day before I was born 😢

  • @NeatNoodle
    @NeatNoodle 4 місяці тому +6

    This veasca new case to me. Thanks for sharing it!

  • @rileytherandom
    @rileytherandom 4 місяці тому +7

    let's be real, the cops were stupid to not consider the car suspicious, considering her personal belongings were in the car

  • @a.morrigan5870
    @a.morrigan5870 29 днів тому

    Thank you John, you always do a great job on these cases. It's clear you really do care.

  • @andywildnauer5072
    @andywildnauer5072 4 місяці тому +8

    Hit the Like button!!

  • @sunshinegalkw9675
    @sunshinegalkw9675 4 місяці тому +8

    When I was a kid in 80’s my grandmother would put her lights on if we were traveling. Probably don’t apply to this case though…

  • @aarondavis8943
    @aarondavis8943 4 місяці тому +2

    This was a brilliant video. Top of your game, John. Great work.

  • @naders08
    @naders08 4 місяці тому +7

    There seems to be two scenarios, one Paige was flagged down by someone pretending to be LE, or she was speaking with a black man, with his hand on her shoulder. Could it be a team? The black guys stops being a "good samaritan" after "witnessing" the bogus cop? I hope the family get answers, they've waited long enough.

    • @jamesdykes2968
      @jamesdykes2968 3 місяці тому

      I recently thought a similar scenario, with two vehicles involved....if this did happen, it would likely be pretty coordinated with them maybe having done it before. What people seem to forget is that there was a witness who saw Paige standing outside her car, pulled over and backed up on the shoulder to help, but then saw the maroon van in his rearview mirror and so he left, thinking that the van was going to help Paige. He was interviewed on the news at the time and Paiges sister commented on it on the Unfound podcast.

  • @BRIDGETTWC
    @BRIDGETTWC 4 місяці тому +4

    Thank you John! ❤

  • @JerryRoss-v4b
    @JerryRoss-v4b 3 місяці тому

    Taylor michigan here n I can't imagine not knowing for so long my prayers for the family 🙏❤️

  • @LosRikos
    @LosRikos 4 місяці тому +4

    I live in Genesee county here in Michigan so this is very close to me.
    Never heard of this disapperance

  • @lindseymorgan6625
    @lindseymorgan6625 4 місяці тому +6

    Paige's fiance taking down license plates is just, ugh. My heart goes out to him, and all of her loved ones.

  • @jenniferdavis6608
    @jenniferdavis6608 4 місяці тому +3

    No matter if it was an accident or flash a badge, the thing either the shoes just doesn't add up to me. You aren't going to get out of the car to exchange info or even for a cop without your shoes on. I understand taking them off while driving, I do that too if I have on flops or heels but I NEVER get out without regardless of what's happening. Something just feels weird.....

  • @twinangel7615
    @twinangel7615 4 місяці тому +4

    She could have turned the lights on to draw attention/help when getting pulled out or told to step out of the car

  • @faronrich9381
    @faronrich9381 4 місяці тому

    Thanks for an update on this case. I drove by this car at about 6:30 p.m. It was a different time, so an empty vehicle on the shoulder wasn't out of place. If your car broke down, most people left it at some point to call someone from the nearest phone booth. There was no noticeable exhaust, so there was no way to know the car was running. I noted that the lights were on and hoped the owner would return before the battery died. When I drove by three hours later, going eastbound, I saw the massive police response on the westbound shoulder. Today, there would have been news about this online almost immediately, but 30 years ago, it wasn't mentioned in the late news, so it was about 12 hours before most local people learned about Paige's disappearance, an eternity in abduction cases.

  • @fairymagic697
    @fairymagic697 4 місяці тому +3

    Her bf breaking into the house ??? What What? He wanted to erase his message on the answering machine.

  • @missychan63
    @missychan63 4 місяці тому +3

    Do they know for a fact that she was taken from the highway? Is there any chance that she was taken from somewhere else and the car was just dumped there?
    As for the headlights being on, I drive with my headlights on all the time, 365 days a year. A police officer friend told me years ago that they wished everyone would because it's so much easier to see cars coming at you, even in broad daylight, and I've never forgotten it. My headlights are currently set to "auto" in both cars- when the car is started, the headlights come on and stay on until the car is turned off. A lot of people drive with headlights during the day.
    Not only did they possibly "move the crime scene" when they towed the car, how many people were in and out of that car before they realized it was a crime scene? I'm guessing at least three or four: The officer that turned off the ignition, he may or may not have been the same person that took photos, The tow truck driver would have had to reach in to put the car in neutral, and then once it got to the tow yard it should have been inventoried. Different tow yards have different ways of doing things of course, but the person that did the inventory could very well not have been the actual tow truck driver, adding yet another person to the mix.

  • @carlbruun386
    @carlbruun386 Місяць тому

    I’ve heard a lot of true crime pods on this case over the years, and as usual Lourdan and Trace Evidence are the two most comprehensive by far.

  • @dennisdaniel1146
    @dennisdaniel1146 4 місяці тому +6

    Was drinking and driving viewed the same way as today? I remember hearing stories of it being points on your license at some point in the 80s for a DUI. I am just saying maybe she didn’t have a major drinking problem and was doing more of a social normal for the time/area.

    • @jamesdykes2968
      @jamesdykes2968 3 місяці тому

      I am guessing she bought it for her fiancee for after his softball game, then got thirsty and had a sip of beer....she wasnt drunk, wasnt involved with drugs, ...it was likely a crime of opportunity, with an attractive white female being kidnapped, raped and murdered by unknown black males.

  • @VEGASBIGDOGDASHERS
    @VEGASBIGDOGDASHERS 4 місяці тому +7

    Women tend to have many pairs of shoes so maybe she was wearing a different pair wasn't wearing those that day

  • @cabooseabs6864
    @cabooseabs6864 4 місяці тому +1

    This just reinforces my opinion about the average LEO. You find a young woman's car(they can run plates) on the side of the road still running and in perfect order. its reportedly been there a long time. What do you do? Just treat it like an abandoned vehicle and have it towed. I know hindsight is 20/20, but you're a police officer. You deal with the reality of crime every single day and dont think theres anything suspicious about it? Do they have a profound lack of critical thinking skills or is it just laziness on their part? This isnt an isolated incident. We hear time and time again someone gets reported missing and the police wont take a report for 24-48 hours and potential vital evidence is contaminated because they just wrote it off and said theyll come back soon. What is the harm in treating it like a crime scene until you can figure out if there was foul play? I know the vast majority of missing persons are found safe in a day or two, im not saying you have to do a massive search with hundreds of people. Just do the simple and easy stuff like preserve a scene until you can rule out foul play. Its just pure laziness and incompotence. I guess if they focus on actual crime they wont have as much time to write tickets and bust people smoking weed.

  • @cabooseabs6864
    @cabooseabs6864 4 місяці тому +1

    What do they mean they processed it as good as they could for the 90s? It doesnt take some new technology to treat an abandoned car that is running and road worthy like possible foul play. The 70s-90s are the peak of serial killer cases and everyone was aware of that, especially LE.

  • @mladventures1935
    @mladventures1935 4 місяці тому +2

    Texas has problem with cars looking who to pick up for ride

  • @REP2016RTM
    @REP2016RTM 4 місяці тому +1

    Have you heard of the Jay Slater case? Very bizarre with some strange conspiracy theories surrounding it. Would like to hear your opinion

  • @silverstuff182
    @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому +1

    Just about from the start of this story I had a suspicion that a wayward law enforcement officer did this. Now you are saying LE contacted the family to say her car was abandoned. I don’t think you are going to say anything that rules out a cop.
    OMG. You just said that a hand drawn map of an area was dropped off anonymously on a detective’s desk. Who but LE could get in there to do that? Did I understand correctly?

  • @LosRikos
    @LosRikos 4 місяці тому +7

    I wonder if the fact she had an open container of booze and that someone may have pretended to be a cop could be very significant.
    The perp couldve "pulled her over" then realized she was drinking and "took her in"

  • @AshleyKopituk
    @AshleyKopituk 4 місяці тому +6

    This is so reminiscent of Maura Murray.

  • @RianHagebeuk
    @RianHagebeuk Місяць тому

    About the shoes, do we know if any of her shoes are missing from the home? I often bring a pair of flats or uggs or similar when I'm wearing heels, because, eh, *censored* no one is going to care with what shoes I come home after an event or day at work.

  • @silverstuff182
    @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому +1

    I think she was kidnapped and forced to leave her shoes.

  • @kultofbunny
    @kultofbunny Місяць тому

    Maybe she didnt get out of the car to talk to someone. Maybe she had already stopped for a reason and the minivan pulled up on her and grabbed her. In Kentucky my car blew a tire, I pulled over to call my insurance, a white van pulled up ahead of me and just sat there. Luckily a police woman showed up and waited behind my car and they left. this scenario seems more plausible that she was on the side of the road already

  • @truthteller449
    @truthteller449 3 місяці тому

    sadly i think shes been forcefully kidnapped on highway and no one even decided to stop and see what was going on, cause soemtimes when i drive on the highway, i would see people on the side of the road talking and i would not even think anything of it, cause im more focused on where im going, i would think maybe someone broke down and getting helped by a stranger. back then if there were street cams, i bet they would of been caught easily.

  • @whateverchannel22
    @whateverchannel22 4 місяці тому

    Cracker Barrell was selling beer in 1990?

  • @chinchillacrystal6899
    @chinchillacrystal6899 26 днів тому

    An open container of beer in her car? Do they know for certain she was the one who purchased it (store camera)? Could she have given someone a ride? Is the can still around and can they DNA test the it?

  • @silverstuff182
    @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому

    There can’t be any DNA in this case. Nothing touched, no body. I think it is very fine and commendable that the double memorial was done but I think the granddaughters need to be released.

  • @chiasanzes9770
    @chiasanzes9770 4 місяці тому

    Wheater she owed money someone. Drugs?

  • @YvonneMelvin
    @YvonneMelvin 4 місяці тому +2

    I’ve hard his story. The man in the maroon van was a pastor, and found to have taken other people out.

    • @silverstuff182
      @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому +2

      Please write more about this. Thanks

  • @jamesgordon364
    @jamesgordon364 День тому

    Maybe I'm just old fashion, but a model drinking a 40 of beer while driving seems out of place. I'm sure the police swabbed it for DNA,

  • @missychan63
    @missychan63 4 місяці тому +2

    It was an "Oldsmobile Kah-lay" They "kah" rhymes with "wah" ... 😉 (Like cat, not caw.)

    • @silverstuff182
      @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому +4

      Calais. A town in France. Ca as in can. Lay.

  • @fairymagic697
    @fairymagic697 4 місяці тому

    The person fiancé wanted to use her $ & she maybe said no. He was pissed IMO

  • @bdmcn1018
    @bdmcn1018 4 місяці тому +1

    How DARE you say that it was a black man!!!! First of all, you dont know how THEY identified. It could have been a woman with a woman's beard. And to say that they is black..! RACIST!!! What does it matter what he looked like??!! We gotta find this person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • @sammyshehole
      @sammyshehole 4 місяці тому +11

      Take your meds

    • @trace-elementz1343
      @trace-elementz1343 4 місяці тому

      He’s reading from the newspaper’s eyewitnesses who reported what they saw! If it was a white man the reports would mention the color of skin! Cops always ask witnesses what color of skin the possible perpetrators have. Please try to live in the real world ❤.

    • @silverstuff182
      @silverstuff182 4 місяці тому

      You are overly sensitive. At that time, especially in the rural parts of Michigan, there were many people of her age who simply had never engaged with black people. Frankly, I’m offended by the term “black”. I think we need to move away from that completely inaccurate term and start to use “dark”. We certainly do have many dark citizens now, everywhere.

    • @bdmcn1018
      @bdmcn1018 4 місяці тому +1

      @@silverstuff182 yes YES I AM SO SICK OF PEOPLE CALLING YOU BLACK. I am so sorry that your life is so terrible and that everyone hates you so much. I am so sorry that you live in absolutely filthy conditions while we live so beautifully. It is such a crime. But I will help you.

    • @jamesdykes2968
      @jamesdykes2968 3 місяці тому

      @@bdmcn1018 Pretty sure the black guys did it.