The Secret Life of Paige Birgfeld

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1:10Grand Junction is situated on the western slope of Colorado, and it's very mountainous and beautiful.

1:20I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but one thing is apparent. It is very tough terrain to search in.

1:32There are hundreds of thousands of places where you could hide a body and we might never find it. I'm Frank Bergfeld. I'm the father of Paige Meredith Bergfeld. She's the mother of three children. My sister did not return from a meeting she had with a previous husband of hers. Paige was within five miles of the house here in Grand Junction and disappeared. My sister was missing. You start asking, missing? What do you mean missing? My name is Pete Houtzinger. I'm the district attorney for Mesa County, Colorado.

2:09We're looking at somebody who has disappeared. We don't know why. I said, you're in the midst of a crime. This is not someone who had run off. Paige would have never, never abandoned her children. Loves her kids, appears to be a typical divorced mom. Lives in a nice house in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Grand Junction. They found her car abandoned in a parking lot and lit on fire a couple days after she went missing. This led investigators to believe that there was foul play involved. We search fields, national parks, mountains. and I am committed to search for her until we find her and bring her home.

2:57Then we started finding out some things that really pretty much changed everything. First you find out Paige is missing and then within a couple of days we started finding out about this other life that we didn't know about. You start hearing things about your own daughter that you didn't know about. We got more details about the extent of Paige's business and the type of person she was and the type of lifestyle she led. After Jess was born, she told me that she wasn't doing it anymore. She kept all these secrets from her friends and family. She said she had been making$400 ,000 a year doing it, and she didn't need to do it anymore.

3:37She had a couple things on her computer. I said, okay, well, that certainly puts a different twist on this investigation. Where is my girl? She may be a 34-year-old woman, a mother of three children, but to me, she's just my little girl.

4:05We first brought you the story of Paige Bergfeld in 2008. Shortly after the young Colorado mother of three disappeared, police discovered that she was leading a secret life, a life that may have led to her disappearance. We've tracked her story ever since. And tonight, at long last, the mystery of what happened to Paige Bergfeld may finally be solved.

4:38And Paige was always the one that was family first. And she was always the one that was keeping us together. How many would like a cookout out by the pool? No one loved a family gathering more than the one person missing from this one, 34-year-old Paige Bergfeld. I mean, she would literally beam. She would radiate. Those were the absolute cherished times that she enjoys most. So when their daughter Paige vanished, Frank and Susie Bergfeld feared the worst. This is a crime. There's a crime here. Instantly I knew this was a problem. She didn't want to even go out to dinner without her children. For them, we need to find her and we need to bring her home.

5:34Paige's older brother, Dr. Craig Bergfeld, is a long way from his home in Seattle. By day, he specializes in the facial reconstruction of children. and by night, he's dad to his own young family. Is that the T-Rex board? Yes. And a devoted husband to his wife, Callie. But now, living in his sister's home, Dr. Bergfeld has a new full-time job, Uncle Craig, to Paige's three young children. Callie and I decided at that time that our role was to be there for the kids and try to, you know, take care of them, be family there for them. just help them. And I just remembered, you know, little girl, just going, so do you know what happened to my mom?

6:21Do you know where she is? And I was like, what do I say? So I said, wherever she is, she wants to be with you right now. Paige had a circle of close friends. Her kids love her. They, uh, they glow when she's around. And Paige was the type of parent that always was around, according to her friends. As a single mother, she had to be. Her ex-husband, Rob Dixon, was living in Philadelphia. After their divorce in 2006, Paige was the primary caregiver for their three children. It wasn't an easy job. Paige is the most patient and loving mother I've ever seen. But it was the only job Paige had ever wanted.

7:07I think as long as I can remember, what she wanted to be was a mom, and she just couldn't wait to be that mom.

7:18So when Paige Bergfeld disappeared, Sheriff Stan Hilkey was pretty convinced this mother of three would not leave on her own. There's nothing in our investigation at all that leads us to believe that she has abandoned her life or abandoned her children and gone off in that regard. My daughter, if she had two broken legs, she'd crawl on her. She'd crawl on her elbows to the church. Authorities started by looking at those closest to Paige. It's kind of police investigations 101 that you usually will look at the emotionally involved people, ex-husbands or current husbands, etc. And they quickly learned that Paige Bergfeld had not one, but two ex-husbands.

8:11Her first husband was her high school sweetheart, Ron Bigler. He was the first big heartthrob, the first big love. In fact, for the past few months, the two had been dating again. She was very excited about rekindling her relationship with Ron. Ten years after divorcing her first husband, Paige said she was in love with him again, and ex-husband number one became the focus of the investigation in June 2007, when it's learned he was with Paige the day she disappeared. We believe that, yes, that she was with her first ex-husband that day of the 28th. Paige and Bigler had their last date at this rest stop, a halfway point between her home in Grand Junction and his home more than four hours away.

8:59I understand that Paige and Ron Bigler had planned to meet, had a picnic, spent part of the afternoon together. When she was driving home later that night around 9 p.m., Paige called Bigler from her cell phone. They spoke briefly, and Paige told him she'd call him later. It has helped us identify persons of interest. Cell phone records show that Paige was just a few miles from her home when she made that call to Beegler, and that phone call was one of her last.

9:35Paige never did call Beegler back that night, so the next day he tried calling her. And her phone rolled over to the voice message right away, so to indicate the phone was turned off or the battery was down. On Saturday morning, two days after seeing Paige, Bigler finally tried calling her at home. Paige's live-in nanny was taking care of her three children. He actually called the house and got her granddaughter, and she was the one that told him that Paige hadn't been home since Thursday night. At that point, the alarms start going off, and he touched base with us, touched base with the sheriff's office, And things started getting in gear then.

10:20And ironically, after Bigler called authorities to report Paige missing, he became one of the first they wanted to question. And I'm sure he was open and willing to have them look at him. Although Bigler was one of the last to see and speak with Paige, those who know him believe he's also one of the last who'd want to harm her. We met with him recently and I think he is very devoted to Paige and very emotional that she's not here. I've spoken to him on the phone since she went missing and it's obvious he's pretty distraught and upset that she's not around. I know he's broken up by this whole thing.

11:10Paige's friends were far more suspicious about her second ex-husband, Rob Dixon, the father of her three children. A lot of her friends would say, where was Rob? I'm afraid Rob was involved. Paige had an explosive troubled history with Dixon. 911, where's your emergency? He said that I would come home in front of all murdered.

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13:40They might not have known exactly where to begin. It's going to be a good morning. But Paige's family knew they'd have to start somewhere. If they were ever going to find her. You want to get out and start looking and try and figure out where she is. So Craig and Callie Bergfeld set off in one direction. Good luck today. Thank you. Hopefully we'll find her today. And Frank Bergfeld headed off in another. My daughter's the one who's missing. So when you're out there, keep your eyes open. While the Bergfeld family searched for Paige, the sheriff's department continued its own investigation. Deputies brought in specialty divers to search the river.

14:25And they got one of their first big leads in the case when someone called 911 after seeing a car in flames parked in an empty lot. It turned out to be Paige's car, the car she was driving when she disappeared. The next morning, authorities discovered that the fire was started from inside the car on the passenger side. D.A. Pete Houtsinger. It at least suggests to me that that person is fairly savvy and intelligent enough to think that there's a real possibility law enforcement could find evidence in that car that would implicate him or her. It looks like whoever is involved here is not afraid of committing a crime.

15:15And the realization of what that might mean for his daughter. was too much to bear. You know, it occurred to me I hadn't cried in a long time. I've learned how to do that. That's it. While Paige's family clung to hope that she was still alive. The reality is creeping in that something bad has certainly happened here. Investigators turned their attention to Paige's second ex-husband, Rob Dixon. The most recent ex-husband is a logical person to take a close look at. Paige met Dixon in 1997, and back then, he seemed like a real catch. Rob had a business success with his father, had a significant amount of wealth.

16:04It was a whirlwind courtship, and the following year, the two had a wedding and started a family together. And they moved to Grand Junction together, you know, moved into that house together, built onto that house together. But Dixon had extravagant taste, and he was reckless with his money, investing millions of dollars in risky business ventures. When the bills started piling up, Paige did what she could to pitch in. She started a little preschool dance business she called Brain Dance.

16:41She would have recitals twice a year and make costumes for all those students. Paige also sold high-end kitchen supplies out of her home for a company called The Pampered Chef. And as one of the top sales agents, she earned a free trip to the Caribbean. But Dixon was losing money a lot faster than Paige was making it. In a few short years, his business investments fell through and he'd lost almost everything. And I think as financial strain came on the relationship, it got worse and worse. By 2004, the problems in the marriage took a turn for the worse. We think of Rob as good Rob and bad Rob.

17:28There are times where Rob is just really a good, funny guy, bright. But at other times, Rob is a difficult person to be around. He can be violently angry, condescending, derisive. You walk on eggshells, a feeling of tension. She stuck by him through a lot. But when he started getting more angry and then finally violent, she had to draw the line there. Finally, in October, Paige had to call the police for help. 911, where's your emergency? My husband and I were in a fight. He wanted the children to stay with him, and he said that I would come home and find them all murdered. What's your name, ma 'am?

18:17Paige Dixon. By the time police and local media arrived, the crisis was diffused. Dixon was allowed to leave after authorities decided he wasn't a threat to himself or anyone else. No charges were filed. Hey Rob, what happened? Why were the cops calling? But one year later, the police were called again. Paige said Dixon had pushed her to the ground. Then later, he punched her while she was holding their baby. This time in October 2005, Dixon was arrested. But the case was later settled after he completed a course in anger management. When everything went rocky and she finally decided enough was enough, when the kids and her were put in jeopardy, she decided it was over.

19:03By the time the couple divorced in September 2006, Rob Dixon had declared bankruptcy and he was living in Philadelphia. When Paige disappeared, that's exactly where Dixon said he was, in Philadelphia, 2 ,000 miles away. But when Paige's family found disturbing entries about Dixon written on a website message board by Paige herself, they were hard to ignore. I've read the things that have been written on her website, on the Pampered Chef website, and, you know, they're pretty scary. Just three months before she disappeared, Paige wrote, My children would ask me if dad was going to kill me. I can't imagine what they were thinking life would be like after he killed me.

19:49Investigators questioned Dixon about his whereabouts the day his ex-wife vanished, but they didn't release details to the public. We can say that we have had contact with Rob Dixon, and that's all that we'll say about him. But Paige's family got word that his alibi held up. I understand that a person's biography might make them a suspect. At the same time, if you're 2 ,000 miles away, I think it takes you off the roster. Both of Paige's ex-husbands seem to have had solid alibis. So who in Paige's life had any motive to harm her? Hello, you've reached out. And that led investigators to an even bigger mystery.

20:35This one about Paige herself. Please read your message and I'll get back to you within the next few days. Who knows why people make those sort of choices. Certainly not for us to judge.

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23:24Mesa County is a big county. It's 3 ,300 square miles of a lot of open space, a lot of canyons. Two weeks have passed since Paige had vanished. You realize unless you know where to look, you could spend the rest of your life looking around out there. It's just so remote. This is big country out here. It is vast. And the question remained where to look when the vista stretches out as far as the eye can see. There are hundreds of thousands of miles around us which could be used to hide a body. But the investigation was about to get a lucky break. Her name, Connie Flukie. We'll never quit. I will never, ever give up.

24:13Connie's can-do spirit inspired the dozens of other volunteers here to help find Paige Bergfeld. This is our search area? Uh-huh. She just gave hope. We were starting to become so dejected. And she just walked in and took charge.

24:31Erin Moriarty:Everybody, I'm getting ready to send a team out, okay? Dork. Craig and Callie got ready to search in the punishing desert heat. I'm Craig. Paige is my sister. I wanted to thank you guys for coming to look for her. Today's going to be the day. I know today's going to be the day. Today's the day we're going to find her. We'll go up this road, loop back down that one. As the volunteers pressed on, the Bergfelds had to navigate through a darker, more difficult terrain, the mysterious double life that Paige had apparently been leading. She had a couple things on her computer. We were saying, wait a minute, what's this computer doing here?

25:14Yeah, why don't the police have this computer? So they called police because they were convinced that her computer held clues that could have put her in danger. It doesn't change what I think of her. I would give anything to see her again right now and give her a big hug. As Craig's concern grew, the search paid off with a discovery that could lead them closer to Paige. They did find some pretty critical pieces of information for us down on Highway 50. Various personal items such as Paige's checkbook and a membership card to a local video store were found scattered along this highway, 15 miles from where her burned-out car was discovered.