Posted on 02/17/2007 8:51:56 AM PST by richandfamous
February 5, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas (Crime Library) Tomorrow will be the seven-month anniversary of 18-year-old Roxanne Paltauf's mysterious disappearance. The case, which gained national attention on America's Most Wanted this past weekend, is becoming a hot topic on Internet message boards and blogs alike.
Yesterday evening, I had the opportunity to speak with Roxanne's mother, Elizabeth Harris, about the circumstances surrounding her daughter's disappearance and this is how she described the situation:
"I had talked to her the night before she disappeared. She was staying with her boyfriend at the Budget Inn Hotel on I-35 in Austin. They were celebrating their second anniversary. They were going to spend a couple of days at the hotel, cause she still lived here at home, and I didn't approve of him, so he didn't come around here."
When she was unable to locate her daughter, Elizabeth filed a missing persons report with the Austin Police Department. From the start, she was dissatisfied with the investigation.
"The first impression the police officer gave me was 'I have a big caseload. This is adding more to my caseload.' He acted like it was an imposition for him to deal with my daughter."
Back at the hotel room, Roxanne left behind her clothing, shoes, purse and cell phone. According to comments made to authorities by the boyfriend, she had nothing but the clothes on her back when she walked out of the room.
Back at the hotel room, Roxanne left behind her clothing, shoes, purse and cell phone. According to comments made to authorities by the boyfriend, she had nothing but the clothes on her back when she walked out of the room.
"It was unlike her to leave her cell phone. She kept it with her at all times. The clothes he (the boyfriend) gave me a few days later were not my daughter's. Neither her sisters nor I had ever seen them before. Oddly enough, he (the boyfriend) did not immediately return her cell phone."
According to Roxanne's phone records, over three hundred calls were placed from July 8, 2006, the day of her disappearance, to July 12, 2006, the day her boyfriend returned the cell phone to her mother. Of those calls, several were placed to a cell phone number in New Mexico, which, as it turns out, is the boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, who we shall henceforth refer to as Jennifer.
Roxanne's mother described her contacts with Jennifer:
"I spoke with her once, but she (Jennifer) said she didn't want to get involved. She said she was getting her life straight. She had been in a woman's shelter because of him. I heard he told her he was in trouble, but she wouldn't open up."
Last night, I spoke briefly with Jennifer. She was evasive to questions about her ex-boyfriend and refused to share any information about the calls placed to her cell phone.
"I thought it was complete," Jennifer said. "That they found her. Actually, a detective and her family called me several months ago. I don't have any new information. I don't know anything. I live in a totally different state now. I spoke with him around that time, but it was a little weird. He made calls to my phone that day, but I never answered. I had nothing to say to him. I was trying to get him out of my life."
According to Jennifer, she never answered calls from her ex-boyfriend on the day Roxanne disappeared; however, cell phone records paint a different picture. Between July 8, 2006 and July 9, 2006, there were 22 calls placed from Roxanne's cell phone to Jennifer's cell phone, ranging from 1 to 49 minutes in length. For someone who had nothing to say, she took long enough not to say it. (more at link)
Louis Walls criminal record:
This is Roxanne's myspace: All the info is there.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=84543154
She was last seen by Louis Walls at the Budget Inn on Rundberg and I-35
Someone in that area saw something that night..please help find Roxanne!!!!
Hard-hearted comment: With any "luck," she's a prostitute, rather than dead. I can't see much good coming out of this, except maybe that she's still alive.
She is NOT a prositute...just a head strong girl that thought she was all grown up and could handle it. She lived at home...she was very close to her family. He is 31 yrs old..he sweet talked her and she thought he loved her.
Damn stupid kids but she didn't deserve this: Her family is devastated!
I have an 18yr old that is not a prostitute but thinks she knows it all! But she is 18 and legally I have no control. That comment was uncalled for.
She's been gone for months with no word to the family with whom she was supposed to be so close. There's something wrong with that picture.
What you've described about the "boyfriend" sounds like the way a pimp breaks in a new prospect. What about this girl he was calling? What's her story? Is it really realistic to assume that Roxanne's outcome would be any different?
With any luck, she's only a prostitute, and not dead. Either way, it's not an innocent situation.
The ex-g/f had a restraining order against him. I heard that the ex said when Walls called he said he was in big trouble. Then the ex became evasive about the rest of the conversations. She said she was trying to distance herself from him.
Innocent or not..she's just a kid and he was the last to see her. Her family needs to know what happened to her. Austin Police Dept needs to take this seriously.
How many more kids will go missing...the perp is still out there. Maybe the next kid is yours!
I'm not sure about that restraining order...but I do think the ex said she went to a shelter at one time. Evidently he was abusive. jmo
I agree it should be taken seriously. But let's not blind ourselves to the more unpleasant aspects of what may have happened.
No one is blind. We all know the possibities but we still have hope and we still need to know where she is. We are trying to get the word out so that if anyone saw the b/f, Louis Walls that night or Roxy that night, they will recall and notify LE.
Correction. Roxy was reported to have left with flip flops on, and it is not known if she had another pair of shoes in that room or not. Thank you, and I am sorry for the mistake.
Richandfamous:). It is great to see you here! Thank you for starting this thread for Roxanne!
LionRun
Sorry if I was defensive about Roxy being a prositute, that was just the mother bear coming out in me. Of course, it would be better that she was a prostitute instead of dead but the point is...the perp is still out there and there are other potential victims. LE needs to solve this. For whatever reason Austin Police Dept has just let this slip away. Maybe the person of interest (b/f) is a "friend" of theirs. There is a huge amount of potential evidence that they just let go by..interviewing the b/f, and his ex-g/f, the motel room, the motel staff, the survalence videos, the person who had her ID, the car the ID was found in, investigating the 300+ cell phone calls after she was missing, etc..etc..etc. APD has done nothing but ignore this case. The spotlight needs to shine on this Louis Walls guy.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Roxanne Paltauf Please contact the Austin Police Department's Missing Person's at (512) 974-5250
The Missing Persons Clearinghouse at (512) 424-5074.
Crimestoppers 472-TIPS Note: If you want to stay anonymous and possibly receive up to $1,000.00 cash pending a conviction this would be a good number to call.
This has Roxanne's family members and others.
http://www.topix.net/forum/county/ba...QJORN6F42MRKIV
http://www.topix.net/forum/austin/TSN7BTL9C5OTB6EQ2
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...ight=Palt auf
http://www.truckingboards.com/trucki...-7-7-06-a.html
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...did=476 86159
This is Roxanne
http://myspace-915.vo.llnwd.net/010...0045269...
Roxanne has a myspace: Finding Roxanne
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cf...iendid=...
This is Lizzy's (mother) myspace dedicated to finding Roxanne;
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cf...d8-ce02...
This is Roxanne's missing poster, that you can print out and plaster if you live in the Austin area:
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g.../scan00...
The only links that work are the Topix ones. We will have to do the links from the original source. geesh!
Which suggests to me that they think she's not dead, but rather a runaway -- who also happens to be 18, and therefore supposedly at the age of responsibility. She can leave if she wants to.
It's not the best result, but perhaps more encouraging than you might otherwise think.
I might think that except for the overwelming red flags on this one. She was not estranged from her family. She left behind her purse, cell, cloths, Id. She took nothing. She had just bought the cell. Paid for it herself. Her ID was in the possesion of one of Walls' friend. Walls called his ex g/f from that cell phone...made over 300 calls, and the calls were not to find Roxy. Wouldn't he have thought she would be mad when she came back...no, because he knew she wasn't coming back. There's more.
I wonder how many of the calls made were to known friends of Roxanne to make sure that she was okay. Walls said that he later went to look for her. If Walls was looking for Roxanne chances are they will run into at least one person and ask if that person saw her. He would have called her friends or someone to ask if they had seen her. He had no vehicle, so did he only look on foot? Or, did he call a friend to help look more efficiently. If he was truly worried why didn't he call her home that very night to see if she got home safely?
LionRun
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