Frank Birgfeld spends many of his days on rafts going down the river, still desperately searching for any signs of his missing daughter.

It's been five weeks now since the initial burst of help from sympathetic friends and strangers in Grand Junction flocked to look for 34-year-old Paige Birgfeld — mother of three, highly-respected Pampered Chef saleswoman, dance instructor and self-employed escort.

"We come in at the end of the day and we're just drained," Frank Birgfeld said. "We come in and we've got no energy left."

But the case isn't dead yet, despite the scaled back operations.

Mesa County sheriff's spokeswoman Norma Mestas said the team of investigators from the department has been reduced from about 15 to three. She also said those three investigators are working other cases along with the Birgfeld case.

Mestas said though much publicity has surrounded the naming of 56-year-old Lester Ralph Jones as a person of interest in the case, the department has "several persons of interest" that are being looked at.

But Frank Birgfeld thinks it's "a giant coincidence" that Jones worked at an RV business across the street from where his daughter's red Ford Escort was found burning in the parking lot of an auto parts distribution center.

He also wanted to know more about Jones and went out and personally interviewed people who said they knew him. To a person, Frank Birgfeld said Jones was described as "unremarkable."

"He was just another guy in town," he said. "People who knew him said they don't have any recollection of him for sainthood, but nobody took him for the devil either."

Jones does have a criminal history, however.

According to court records, Jones has domestic violence in his background. He was arrested Jan. 6, 1999, in Delta County and charged with multiple offenses stemming from an incident with his then-wife. He also pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon stemming from kidnapping charges that same year.

He is currently employed at Bob Scott RV's Inc. in Grand Junction — the RV firm located across the street from where Paige Birgfeld's car was found ablaze.

Attempts by the Rocky to reach Jones have been unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Frank Birgfeld continues to cling to hope.

"I'm right where I started. I haven't found her not alive, so maybe there's some bizarre circumstance and she will walk through the door in full health," he said. "Do I think my odds are good? No, but it's like the Powerball — somebody's got to win it."

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com

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