On the morning of May 24, 1990, Paige offers to take her mother to the Detroit Metro airport. Paige's mother, Ardis, had plans to visit her other daughter Michele in Atlanta, Georgia. Paige goes to her mother's home to pick her up, from which it was then about a 30-minute drive to the airport. Ardis leaves her car, a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais, with Paige so she can run some errands. Later Ardis tells investigators that Paige had been planning to meet a female friend at a park in Canton, Michigan for lunch.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

After dropping her mother off at the airport, Paige meets her friend for her lunch date in Canton. After that, she planned to watch her fiancé play softball. On the way, she stops at a store located west of Interstate 275 in Canton, Michigan. While she is there, she purchases a single bottle of beer.

Store Where Paige Stopped

Paige pulls over on the westbound shoulder of Interstate 96, only a quarter-mile to a half-mile away from the Fowlerville exit. While it was later noted there may have been some minor damage on the front end of her car, investigators could not identify any significant damage indicating a recent accident, and it is still unknown why she pulled over.

Location Where Paige Was Last Seen

According to a witness, Paige is seen outside of her car speaking with two unidentified African-American males standing near a maroon or burgundy minivan, with possibly a third male nearby or in the car. Paige is gesturing and throwing her hands up in the air before one of the men is seen putting his hand on her shoulder.

Location Where Paige Was Last Seen

The motorist who initially saw Paige's car at 3:30pm passes her car again around 7:30pm and becomes concerned. This motorist calls police to the scene.

Location Where Paige Was Last Seen

The police officer who arrives on the scene does not initially note anything of suspicion. After running the tags on the car, the officer places a call to Ardis, who was on vacation and not able to take the call. Meanwhile, the officer has the vehicle towed.  Investigators later noted that Paige's silver 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais was pulled over on the side of the interstate, around a quarter-mile to a half-mile from the Fowlerville exit. They also noted that the keys were in the ignition, the doors were unlocked, and the lights and radio inside the car were still on. Inside her car, investigators found Paige's purse, wallet, and shoes, along with an open bottle of beer. 

Location Where Paige Was Last Seen

After not hearing from Paige, Ardis asks Paige's fiancé to go to her home and check her voicemail. Debrabander listens to a message from the police and learns that the car that Paige was driving that day had been towed, and they realize that Paige is missing.

The first of many billboards are erected along Interstate 90 where Paige was last seen. Over time, a total of 25 billboards have been planned.

Roughly six months after Paige disappeared, investigators receive a letter from an anonymous source. The letter has a map enclosed and indicates that the information may be a “...red herring, however, I have recently come into some information about Paige…that may or may not be true. I have tried to verify as much of this information as I could and have found many of the details to be true.” The source declares that the map is the “supposed route taken by her abductors.” The unsigned letter ends with, “Thank you for your attention to this.”  This letter and map were put in a case file years later in 1999, and again revisited in 2011, when authorities suspected the map may have been initially read incorrectly by investigators.

A currently unidentified male who was in prison in Michigan is officially named as a suspect in Paige's disappearance. This man is in prison for carjacking at the time, and police believe that he could have been one of the men to whom Paige was last seen talking on Interstate 96 before her disappearance. After many interviews with investigators, as well as undergoing a polygraph test, he is eliminated as a suspect.

Investigators begin digging along a tree-lined driveway of a home in Livingston County, Michigan after cadaver dogs alerted at the site. Investigators were led to the site by a hand-drawn map and letter in the case file from 1999, which had indicated that Paige's remains were buried at that location.

Location Of Police Dig Site

Shortly after investigators arrived on the scene, a medical examiner's vehicle and other crime scene investigators arrive at the dig location. After further investigation, Paige is not found at this location, and the investigation into her disappearance continues.

Location Of Police Dig Site

In 2012 or 2013, a witness steps forward years after Paige's disappearance with a new suspect description, leading to a new sketch of the suspect. 

These billboards are intended to include Paige as well as two other women who went missing in nearby areas.