PAIGE JOHNSON - 17 yo (2010) - Florence (nr OH border-SW of Cinci) KY

Searchers returned to East Fork State Park this morning to look for evidence that could indicate what happened to Paige Johnson, a 17-year-old who went missing Sept. 23 in Northern Kentucky.
This will be the second day of the coordinated search of the park that encompasses more than 10,000 acres spanning three Clermont County townships.Covington police Lt. Col. Spike Jones said investigators returned because they had not completed a search of what they considered the most likely areas someone could have disposed of a body.The search concentrated on the park because Jacob Bumpass, 22, of Taylor Mill - who police said was the last person known to have seen Paige - sent a text message from the area about 4:18 a.m. on Sept. 23.Phone records indicated the message was relayed by a cell tower on Half-Acre Road near a park entrance.On Wednesday, about 110 people, some walking with cadaver dogs and others on horseback or in all-terrain vehicles, focused on land north of Harsha Lake, including a stretch along Old Ohio 32 in Williamsburg Township that's outside the park.The park's Harsha Lake, which covers 2,160 acres and is more than 100 feet deep in some parts, has previously been searched.

COVINGTON, Ky. -- A candlelight vigil is planned for Friday night for a missing Florence teenager.Family and friends will gather at Paint Yourself Silly on Decoursey Pike in Covington to pray for the safe return of Paige Johnson."We've been working on this morning, getting candles ready for tonight," organizer Lisa Little said. "Paige has been friends with my daughter a long time."The 17-year-old girl has been missing for nearly a month."We've just been waiting. It's awful for all of us, for Donna, for Paige's grandma Jenny, for my grandma Sharon, it's awful," cousin Amanda Johnson said.A two-day search at East Fork Lake State Park was called off Thursday after finding no sign of Johnson."In no way, shape or form are we having this as a way to say goodbye to Paige," Little said. "We believe she is still alive and that's what we want this to be about tonight."Detectives will now follow up on other leads. A $1,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Johnson."It's not about what happened, it's where is she, I want her to come back, everybody wants her to come home," Little said.Friday’s vigil is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/25478490/detail.html

Missing teen had tough life



COVINGTON - When Paige Johnson went missing Sept. 23, Lisa Little wondered if the 17-year-old Florence girl may be in trouble.
The 37-year-old Little didn't want Paige to think she couldn't reach out for help because of past differences. Little once banned her own teenage daughter from hanging out with Paige because she was a "trouble maker."Little created the "Paige You Are Safe Here" page on Facebook to reach out to the missing teen. Paige regularly used the social networking site to communicate with friends and family.One month later, Paige still hasn't been heard from and the Facebook page has morphed into an exchange for more than 15,000 people seeking information on the teen's disappearance and remembrances of her.Whether Paige will ever make it to a safe place, or see what her friends and others concerned about her say is very much in doubt, investigators say.Investigators with cadaver dogs spent two days last week searching the 10,000-acre East Fork State Park in Clermont County but found no signs of a dumped body. The search concentrated on the park because Jacob Bumpass - who police said was the last person known to have seen Paige - sent a text message from the area about 4:18 a.m. on Sept. 23.Friends and family describe Paige as a social butterfly who was always trying to lift other people's spirits despite being raised in an unstable family situation. Her father is a convicted felon, she dropped out of high school after giving birth at 15, and has no job.Paige's 37-year-old mother, who has a minor criminal record herself, is now raising four additional children, including her own 2½-month-old, in a motel room in Florence.Despite her lack of advantages growing up, Paige "was never the type of person who sat down and complained and whined about everything going on in her life," said Little's daughter, 19-year-old Paige Hanna. "She tried her best not to let anything get her down."It was a combination of streetwise hardness and Paige's need for attention that often got the teen in trouble, friends said.Bumpass, a 22-year-old convicted felon from Taylor Mill, admitted to Paige's mother that he gave alcohol to the girl in the hours before she disappeared. Another friend, who has since completed substance-abuse rehabilitation, recalls smoking marijuana with Paige.Abby Schmitz, 17, of Edgewood, recalls being told to stay away from Paige because she was "nothing but trouble" when she moved into the same neighborhood five years ago.Abby didn't listen and said she soon saw another side of Paige."She had so much personality," Abby said. "She was always happy. She wouldn't let anything get her down. If I was sad, she would do anything she could to cheer me up."They became loyal friends, but the spontaneity of Paige's personality also got the pair in trouble."She kind of looked for trouble back then," Abby said. "She used to hang out with all the wrong people. ... She used to be the party girl. Me and her both were."Abby said that changed when Paige had a child."Her role at being in the spotlight just slowed down a lot," Abby said.Paige slept at Abby's house for three nights before she disappeared and didn't mention anything about planning to run away."I want her to be alive so bad," Abby said, "but it isn't looking good."Little said Paige had no responsibilities that would cause her to want to flee. Paige's daughter, Makenzie, who is now 2, is being raised by her father and his family."She didn't have a reason because her responsibility with Makenzie was taken care of," Little said. "She was allowed to be a 17-year-old girl."Paige's mother, Donna Johnson, 37, of Florence said her daughter was maturing. A week before her disappearance, Paige had picked up applications at Gateway Community and Technical College. She wanted to continue her education after dropping out of Simon Kenton High School soon after having her child.She had also put in a series of job applications."Why would she try to find a job and go to school if she was planning to run off?" Johnson said.Ronnie Rider, Paige's on and off boyfriend for four years but not the father of her child, said the couple was planning to move into an apartment together.Rider, 20, said he saved $1,400 working for a temporary service to get an apartment the pair could share.He said he is still in love with the "popular girl" he met in 2006 at Ollie's Skatepark in Florence."I just want everyone to know that she is a very good girl," Rider said. "She is very respectful. I had a lot of love for that girl. I just want her to come home."Detectives have questioned Rider, a convicted burglar, about his relationship with Paige. He said he cooperated fully except for taking a lie detector test."My attorney advised me against that," Rider said.He said he wasn't fleeing the area when he traveled to Minnesota one or two weeks after Paige's disappearance. Rider, who remained there Friday, said he traveled north to help an uncle rehab recreational vehicles.Rider, a mechanic by trade, said the move took the pain of Paige's disappearance away by keeping his mind focused on work."That is how I've been coping," he said.http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101025/NEWS0103/10230351/Missing-teen-had-tough-life

I have been really impressed that Paige's family and friends and the local media have ensured that there is an article about her every day. They could not have done any more than they have done to keep Paige in the news.
BUT - I just feel so frustrated about the total dysfunction that she has been subjected to and endured her whole life. I have no doubt it is the sole reason she is missing and possibly dead, at only 17 years old. Let's look at how she came to be a name and a person we total strangers are now worried about and trying to find;

Her father is a convicted felon.
Her mother, who is only 37 now, also has a criminal record.
Her mother, who has not exactly been a good example to Paige, has since had at least 3 more children to god only knows how many different men (and judging by the choice she made with Paige's father, god only knows what type of lowlifes they might be as well)- the latest child she gave birth to only 2&1/2 months ago. Never mind if Paige needed her mother to guide her as she became a young troubled teen, her mother was too busy to help Paige through her difficulties. Instead she chose to have more babies. I expect Paige has led an unstable life and endured several of her mothers boyfriends coming and going.
Hardly a surprise then that at only 15 years old herself, Paige gives birth to her own child. I guess her mother was too busy to worry about Paige, so the boy who got her pregnant and his family are raising that poor child. I hate to think what they may be like, but - we live in hope they too aren't completely dysfunctional.
So, Paige is free from the responsibility of raising the child she brought into this world and parties on.
Thanks to her upbringing her standards aren't high. In fact the bar's been set so low due to a fine example set by Mom and Dad that she has chosen two great boyfriends. One a convicted burglar and the other a convicted felon - she would feel comfortable with them - it's what she knows.
One of these people is probably responsible for whatever has happened to Paige. But, it took a whole lot of people to get where she is today, in my opinion. And if only everyone in her life had cared as much and given Paige as much time as they are now doing today, we would never have heard her name.
Yes, I know, I could be wrong on some points as I'm guessing about a few details, but the general picture's accurate based on what we know for a fact. The point is, too many children are growing up in totally dysfunctional and unacceptable environments and one way or another, they eventually end up in the news. Abused, missing or murdered.

The point is, too many children are growing up in totally dysfunctional and unacceptable environments and one way or another they eventually end up in the news. Abused, missing or murdered.

---Bravo! Excellent analysis Kiwi! You have a wonderful gift in being able to put into words what most of us have been thinking.

Kiwimom you should be posting helpful or useful information not bashing or judging her family. Obviously they care & it took alot of phone calls, fits & pushing to get the media & police to get this story out there, especially here in Florence, KY. Parents can't be with their kids 24/7. I don't care where you come from - what income level you are - 2 parents with perfect jobs, etc... We live in a different age & time now. Kids have access to the internet & they have cell phones & everything is out there now. Kids do lie & sneak out. I have been in the same situation as this family & I have a great job & family. Fortunately after 2 months my daughter was found & brought home & she has spent 1 1/2 years in a treatment facility because of it. Do you really think that it supportive to put this family down? If they didn't care they would not be spending every second of their life trying to find her & trying to remain hopeful that they will find her alive.

Paiges51, I aim to raise awareness of the underlying reason for the tragedies that happen to children and teenagers so the public can advocate change to try to prevent it from happening to someone else.
At the heart of every case on this forum with the rare exception of a stranger child abduction and murder, there is often dysfunction in the child's life. The adults who should be keeping them safe fail to do so. Paige's father was not there to set a good example and he set the standard for the type of man she would like to be with. He was in jail instead of making sure the boys she went out with were decent guys. Not that he'd have been a good one to judge anyway.
I don't understand why you are trying to make what happened to Paige "normal" and I think you are misguided in believing that access to phones or the internet or not watching your child 24/7 is the reason these things happen.
This thread is not here to support Paige's family but I'm sure you will be able to find one for them elsewhere on the internet. In the meantime, I'll carry on trying to jolt people back to demanding a greater standard of what's acceptable in society re raising a child.
Here's some tips for peeps out there in case you deem this post too not useful or lacking information.

A parent needs to;
Teach the child skills and set an example for the child with a view to the child becoming independent.
Teach the child to be honest and considerate to others.
Have them help around the home and work for special things they want.
Love them, feed them healthy food, make sure they get enough sleep and help them with their homework.
Keep an eye on their friends, and the internet.
Having done the above, the child will usually grow up happy and make good choices for themselves.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

Gotta love that KiwiGal!

I know I do Thank you both for all your hard work. Don't let stupid comments deter you from your mission. You ROCK!

Thanks Tom, Red

Paiges51 wrote:Kiwimom you should be posting helpful or useful information not bashing or judging her family. Obviously they care & it took alot of phone calls, fits & pushing to get the media & police to get this story out there, especially here in Florence, KY. Parents can't be with their kids 24/7. I don't care where you come from - what income level you are - 2 parents with perfect jobs, etc... We live in a different age & time now. Kids have access to the internet & they have cell phones & everything is out there now. Kids do lie & sneak out. I have been in the same situation as this family & I have a great job & family. Fortunately after 2 months my daughter was found & brought home & she has spent 1 1/2 years in a treatment facility because of it. Do you really think that it supportive to put this family down? If they didn't care they would not be spending every second of their life trying to find her & trying to remain hopeful that they will find her alive.

What was not helpful or useful? Kiwi only pointed out the obvious, and frankly I'm a little disheartened by your comments, Paige. What we do, as parents, MATTERS. Our children are going to emulate us and follow in our footsteps. It isn't rocket science.

My question is the same of others here, where was the love, care and concern when Paige was around? Did they give her this kind of attention while she was still in the home? I doubt it. Given Paige's history, Kiwi is spot on, it isn't a surprise that Paige is missing.

Yes, I agree with you, that even in the best of circumstances, with the best of parents, kids will still lie and sneak out...and really bad things can happen to them...BUT, there is a HUGE difference here...Paige did NOT have the best of circumstances or good role-modeling. And subsequently, her name has wound up on our forum.

Thank you Admin. I just couldn't let a topic called "Kiwimom you are pathetic" go without response., but see how polite I was?

kiwimom wrote:Paiges51, I aim to raise awareness of the underlying reason for the tragedies that happen to children and teenagers so the public can advocate change to try to prevent it from happening to someone else.
At the heart of every case on this forum with the rare exception of a stranger child abduction and murder, there is often dysfunction in the child's life. The adults who should be keeping them safe fail to do so. Paige's father was not there to set a good example and he set the standard for the type of man she would like to be with. He was in jail instead of making sure the boys she went out with were decent guys. Not that he'd have been a good one to judge anyway.
I don't understand why you are trying to make what happened to Paige "normal" and I think you are misguided in believing that access to phones or the internet or not watching your child 24/7 is the reason these things happen.
This thread is not here to support Paige's family but I'm sure you will be able to find one for them elsewhere on the internet. In the meantime, I'll carry on trying to jolt people back to demanding a greater standard of what's acceptable in society re raising a child.
Here's some tips for peeps out there in case you deem this post too not useful or lacking information.

A parent needs to;
Teach the child skills and set an example for the child with a view to the child becoming independent.
Teach the child to be honest and considerate to others.
Have them help around the home and work for special things they want.
Love them, feed them healthy food, make sure they get enough sleep and help them with their homework.
Keep an eye on their friends, and the internet.
Having done the above, the child will usually grow up happy and make good choices for themselves.

Couldn't agree more my friend.

The focus of the search for missing teen Paige Johnson has turned toward the money raised during an event held last week. Ryan Courtade with the Northern Kentucky Youth Foundation and Donna Johnson, mother of missing teen Paige Johnson, both spoke out on Wednesday. On Oct. 15 friends and family gathered to raise money for the families involved and the search effort. When it came time to distribute the money raised, people began to disagree. Donna received a portion of the funds. The money for the reward and search efforts were set aside, but the remaining $725 was set to go to family of the father of Paige's daughter. According to Courtade, the father's family declined the money, asking it go toward the search effort and reward. Donna, however, had something else in mind. "Paige didn't have a college fund. I want Mackenzie to have a college fund. I want the rest of the money that's in the bank to go to Mackenzie's college fund. And the guy from the foundation said I completely understand and that's what will happen. So when we went down to get it the next day, it was gone," said Donna. According to Courtade Donna "wanted it for her own personal uses. She said it was going to go towards the baby. But as far as I know we don't have any proof that that would have happened." Wednesday both parties decided the money issues should be set aside and the focus on Paige should resume. "If her reward isn't paid out, that's fine, we'll put it toward Mackenzie. We'll put it towards any other thing that has to do with Paige right now. But giving somebody $725 in my eyes towards a two-year-olds college fund, it doesn't seem like the most responsible thing as well as it doesn't seem like the people that attended the event on Friday night, that where they would want the money to go towards," Courtade said. "My child is missing and I have more important things to deal with than all of this," Donna said.

Last person to see Paige to be released


By Jim Hannah • jhannah@nky.com • October 30, 2010
COVINGTON - The convicted felon last seen with missing 17-year-old Paige Johnson is set to be released from the Kenton County jail without any new charges filed against him.
Unless Covington police come up with some evidence that links 22-year-old Jacob Bumpass to some crime, state probation and parole documents reveal that his sanction for violating his parole on theft charges will be to complete a residential drug rehabilitation program.Bumpass will remain locked up until a bed opens at a Newport halfway house that offers drug treatment, probation and parole district supervisor Christie Feldman wrote in a letter to The Enquirer. Officials said they didn't know how soon that would be.Covington police have avoided calling Bumpass a suspect, or even a person of interest, despite the fact that they have searched his Taylor Mill apartment, searched his family's cars and subpoenaed his mobile phone records.The phone records led to several searches this month of the 10,000-acre East Fork State Park in Clermont County for the missing girl, but investigators didn't find anything. The search concentrated on the park because a text message from Bumpass' phone was sent from the area about 4:18 a.m. on Sept. 23 - the morning Paige disappeared from Northern Kentucky."He is the person who saw her last," said Lt. Col. Spike Jones of Covington police. "We feel as if he has information that may assist us in locating her."We didn't call him a suspect. We haven't named him as a suspect, but for whatever reason, Mr. Bumpass has chosen to remain silent."Jones said Bumpass, who survived Hodgkin's disease as a teen, has hired a lawyer and refused to cooperate with the investigation.Paige's disappearance has been featured multiple times on the cable show "Nancy Grace," more than a thousand missing posters cover telephone poles across the region and a Facebook page created to publicize the disappearance had 18,800 members as of Friday.When people saw investigators do the large-scale search Oct. 21 and 22 at East Fork State Park, Jones said they incorrectly assumed it was the "final chapter in what police were going to do."He said that was just the most visible piece of the ongoing investigation.When asked if there were new or promising leads, Jones said the investigation wasn't as "cold" as it may appear."We are receiving some decent information from some folks," Jones said. "We are just trying to connect the dots right now."Bumpass agreed to the sanctions after he was arrested Oct. 4 on a charge that he violated his parole. It was his first violation since being paroled in August 2009 after serving two years, nine months and 19 days of an eight-year sentence on two counts of theft by unlawful taking in Kenton and Boone counties.The parole violations were for possession of deadly weapons, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and lying to his parole officer about where he worked.The deadly weapons were American Indian tomahawks and arrows that Bumpass displayed in his apartment, according to the parole sanctions. Bumpass lists his ethnicity on state correction department records as American Indian of Alaskan descent.The parole documents state that Bumpass admitted that he was addicted to illegal drugs and had asked for help. A drug test given when he was arrested came back positive for marijuana. There were also full and empty beer cans and liquor bottles at his apartment.Bumpass told his parole officers that he had worked 32 hours at a Subway but he actually hadn't been employed at the restaurant for at least a week. Bumpass wrote on his Facebook page that he had been hired at the Gap but had yet started his new job when he was arrested.Anyone with information about Paige's disappearance is asked to call Covington police at 859-292-2222.http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101030/NEWS0103/10310327/Last-to-see-Paige-to-be-released

She has been missing for more than a month now and her family is not giving up hope.Paige Johnson, 17, of Florence, was last seen Sept. 23 in Covington.On Oct. 15, police arrested Jacob Bumpass on a probation violation. Police said he was the last person to see the 17 year old alive and that his cell phone "pinged" a cell tower near East Fork Lake State Park in Clermont County the day she disappeared.So, on Oct. 21-22, teams searched the park and found nothing leading to Paige Johnson.Which brings us up to this past weekend, when Dayton police stopped friends and family members of Paige Johnson from posting fliers about her disappearance on utility poles.They deny they're being insensitive, rather just upholding a long-standing law."We are so sorry that we've been chastised by some people here because of the utility poles," said Dayton City Administrator Dennis Redmond.Administrators from both the City of Dayton and Bellevue say you can't tell one person it's okay to hang signs on utility poles, no matter how dire the circumstances, and deny everybody else who thinks their cause is just as important.Redmond said they have a long history of stopping people from hanging signs on telephone poles."But since March the 6th of 1979," Redmond said. "We've had a standing ordinance that we follow and enforce to the letter."They're not insensitive to Paige's plight."That does not mean that a human life is compared to a lost dog," he said.Whether its yard sales or political signs, nothing is allowed on utility poles."If you let one do it, then they all do it," Redmond said.The Police Department called City Hall."And just notified us that there was some people putting up things on the telephone poles," he said.And in most cases, those people would have been subjected to a $50 fine."Nobody's getting fined for it," Redmond said.Their police department has already put resources toward finding the missing teen."We are very sensitive to it," he said. "In fact, our police department is actually working on the case.""And whatever we could possibly do," he said. "We would try to do."There is a stack of fliers inside Dayton City Hall."We've put the signs up on all of our bulletin boards," he said. "Public works garage, city hall, the police station.""It's been modified so many times," said Bellevue City Administrator Keith Spoelker. "This is our original zoning ordinance."It is the foundation of their zoning laws next door in Bellevue, as Spoelker explained pointing to the ordinance on the books.The safety factor for utility workers is tantamount, where poles are already riddled with nails, spikes and tacks. Plus, there is the danger of not being able to see around the poles. if they were cluttered with signs."The ordinance pretty much spells out nothing shall be posted whether it's something of grave importance such as this, or a yard sale next week, it's just not allowed," Spoelker said.And it's not limited to utility poles, curbs, lamp posts, and bridges are included. There is a long list.Both men said searchers could make a bigger impact, putting signs in high-traffic spots, like a grocery store or the post office."Just to tell the family," Redmond said. "If there's anything we could possibly do, any resource we could possibly give you, we'll try to do so."Redmond said aside from the fliers inside city hall, they'd be happy to put a posting on the city's website or run a spot on their cable TV channel.

Social networking websites were initially used to mobilize the community in the search for the missing 17-year-old Paige Johnson of Florence. Now, investigators hope messages sent via the sites will tell them what led to the September disappearance of the teenager.
Investigators have obtained two search warrants for the MySpace and Facebook accounts of Paige and 22-year-old Taylor Mill resident Jacob Bumpass, the last person seen with the teen.The investigators want to know who created the pair's accounts, a record of every log-in since Sept. 1 and access to the private messages in the users' inbox and sent mail folders.Covington police Detective Gwen Kelley wrote in an affidavit to obtain the warrants that she thinks the accounts contain information that "a criminal offense has occurred."Paige's family reported Paige, the mother of a 2-year-old girl, missing Sept. 23. Investigators quickly determined that Bumpass was the last person to been seen with Paige, and detectives say he hasn't cooperated in the investigation."Investigators found Mr. Bumpass' limited statements to be untrue or unverifiable," Kelly wrote in the affidavit. "Mr. Bumpass was unwilling to provide an explanation of the whereabouts of Paige Johnson."Covington police have refused to call Bumpass a suspect, or even a person of interest in the case. He is being held in the Kenton County Jail on parole violations.Phone records obtained from Bumpass and Paige reveal ongoing communication between the pair prior to Sept. 23, but no contact after that date, according to the affidavit. Investigators had previously obtained search warrants for the mobile phones of Paige's grandmother (Paige didn't have a phone) and Bumpass.Electronic communications appear to be driving investigators' search for Paige.The phone records led to several searches last month of the 10,000-acre East Fork State Park in Clermont County, but investigators didn't find anything. The search concentrated on the park because a text message from Bumpass' phone was sent from the area about 4:18 a.m. the morning Paige was reported missing.Further investigation showed Paige and Bumpass also regularly communicated using social networking sites, according to the affidavit for the social networking accounts.Bumpass had posted numerous pictures of Paige on his social networking sites. The pair appeared together in some of the photos.Kelley wrote in the affidavit that people interviewed about the disappearance said Bumpass used social networking sites to post information about Johnson after her disappearance.There are a series of messages from Bumpass that were still accessible on Tuesday to anyone on Facebook.At 7:05 p.m. Sept. 23 he asked if anyone had seen Paige. In the message posted from his mobile phone, Bumpass wrote that her friends and family hadn't heard from her.One hour and 17 minutes later he wrote, "Ok really if anyone has seen Paige Johnson please let me kno because the cops are looking for her now. If anyone has any information on where she would be at message me."On Oct. 3, the day before Bumpass was arrested for violating his parole, he writes, "I feel everything I've worked towards slowly slipping away. All the responsibility I've learned to shoulder slipping off. And all my loved ones misunderstanding me ... "On MySpace, Bumpass makes reference to the two years, nine months and 19 days he spent in prison on two theft convictions. In a one-paragraph bio, he writes, "Fresh out tha pen as Fresh to death so if ya wanna know more jus get at me."Bumpass was arrested Oct. 4 for possession of deadly weapons, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and lying to his parole officers about where he worked. He is currently being held at the Kenton County jail.Paige also reached out to people on her Facebook account. At 12:12 a.m. Sept. 23 she posted a message to a friend. It read, "GIRL. I need To Talk To You IMMEDIATELY!"It's unclear if the friend Paige was trying to reach responded.

Former Victim Says Jacob Bumpass Is Violent


The last man seen with a missing Northern Kentucky teenager has a record of violence and the move is on to keep him locked up. Jacob Bumpass has not been charged with anything related to the disappearance of Paige Johnson. He's only locked up for a parole violation. Now, a victim from an earlier crime has stepped forward to talk.

He spoke with Local 12's Joe Webb.

Jacob Bumpass was paroled for two theft charges he pled guilty to in 2008. He was locked up for violating his parole when police arrived to question him about Paige Johnson and found weapons and evidence that he'd been drinking... both parole violations. Next week, the legal process begins to revoke Bumpass's parole. One of his victims says he can be dangerous and at times violent and doesn't want him out.

"He told me he had a knife."

Tyler Lewin thought he and Jacob Bumpass were friends, until a night in December 2007 when he says Bumpass blindsided him and took his money. Police say it all took place at Oakbrook Road and Sycamore Hill in Florence. Bumpass was arrested that night and charged with robbery.

According to Erlanger Police, three days earlier, Bumpass robbed this Ameristop, breaking the ankle of an elderly clerk in the process. He was charged with robbery, again. He pled guilty to lesser theft charges in both cases and was sentenced to a total of 8 years in jail. He was paroled, but locked back up last month.

Rob Sanders, Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney: "He's still being held on a pending parole violation and the probation and parole department is seeking revocation of his parole. Assuming that his parole is revoked, the earliest he could get out... good time and so forth... assuming he behaves himself behind bars, would be some time late next year."

The police investigation into Paige Johnson's disappearance has been shaped by Bumpass' initial statement and cell phone records. Those led police to search East Fork State Park two weeks ago. If Bumpass did indeed travel there the night Johnson went missing, that would be another possible parole violation.

Tyler Lewin says the whole scenario has him puzzled, but he's clear on one thing... he feels Jacob Bumpass can be trouble.

Tyler Lewin, Crime Victim: "Yea, I think there's something there that definitely needs to be worried about... for sure. His criminal record does tell it all, honestly. Yea, I think he can be violent."

Jacob Bumpass is scheduled for an administrative hearing on his parole violation next week. His attorney could waive that hearing and send the cases directly to the Kentucky Parole Board. It's likely they will make a decision, one way or the other, before the end of the year.

Jacob Bumpass has not been charged with anything related to the disappearance of Paige Johnson. He told Covington Police that he dropped her off at 15th and Scott in Covington the night she was last seen. Bumpass is no longer talking to police.
http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Former-Victim-Says-Jacob-Bumpass-Is-Violent/MHXbuawtGkWn1e416ToHDA.cspx

it's been six weeks since Paige Johnson's family saw the missing teenager, and they're losing patience with people who are refusing to talk to police. Jacob Bumpass, the last person seen with Paige Johnson, is locked up for a parole violation and won't talk. His brother, Caleb Bumpass, whose car was searched by police after her disappearance, has also hired an attorney and isn't cooperating.

But Local 12's Joe Webb tracked him down today in Elsmere.

Caleb Bumpass was not happy to see us this morning. He said he is displeased with our story yesterday about his brother's criminal history. Bumpass had no comment, but while we were there, we found out police have been back since they searched his car last month. Caleb Bumpass didn't want to talk today and told us his attorney wouldn't talk either. October 8th, police came here with a search warrant for his car, specifically looking for blood and bloody clothing as part of the Paige Johnson investigation. She was last seen with his brother, Jacob, September 23rd.

Police records show they were back here November 1st after the fire department reported Caleb Bumpass burning things in his backyard the night before. Elsmere Sergeant Todd Cummins went out with Covington Detective Gwen Kelly.

"We went over to the address on May Street and spoke to Caleb Bumpass and poked around through the fire to see what was in there."

"She took a couple of small things, but I really don't know what they were or if they're relevant to the case or anything."

Covington Police say what they got does not change the course of the investigation. But it does make it clear they are interested in what goes on at Caleb Bumpass's house. Paige Johnson's family is growing more and more frustrated as time drags on with no news. Johnson's sister, Brittany Haywood knows Jacob Bumpass and has met Caleb.

"It's just ridiculous why they see our family is hurting and all of our family and friends and we want to know something and nobody knows anything and they're the only ones who know something. That's just ridiculous. If it was their little sister they would want someone to talk."

Caleb Bumpass has not been charged with anything. His only involvement is police say his brother was driving his car when he picked up Paige Johnson the last night she was seen.

Jacob Bumpass is only being held on a parole violation that was uncovered when police showed up to interview him about Johnson. He's on parole for two theft convictions and has a hearing on the parole violation next Wednesday.

The Kenton County Prosecutor says Covington Police are waiting test results from some things recovered during their first round of search warrants.
http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Missing-Teen-Police-Keeping-Eye-On-Caleb-Bumpass/uQjY44JmRU2Vwwo3NabfLQ.cspx

Missing Teen's Mom Testifies At Parole Hearing

Posted by gotcha Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 10:46 PM

Excerpt:

The man who may have been the last person to see a missing Northern Kentucky teen appeared in court today for a parole hearing. Jacob Bumpass is not charged in the disappearance of Paige Johnson but he has been questioned in the case and has been held behind bars since she went missing on unrelated charges.

The result of today's hearing is that an administrative law judge ruled that there is enough evidence to keep Bumpass in jail and send his case to the Parole Board.

http://www.chathousenews.com/2010/11/missing-teens-mom-testifies-at-parole.html

Police: Blood In Car Not From Missing Teen
Search Continues For Florence Girl

POSTED: 5:37 pm EST November 24, 2010

COVINGTON, Ky. -- Investigators said they have determined that blood found in a car did not come from a missing Florence teen.

The blood was discovered on the passenger seat of a car driven by Jacob Bumpass, who was the last person known to have seen Paige Johnson.

The 17-year-old Johnson disappeared Sept. 23 after Bumpass said he dropped her off at a street corner in Covington.

Bumpass has been held since early October on an unrelated probation violation, but police said he has not cooperated with their investigation.

Officers said cell phone records show Bumpass drove to East Fork Lake State Park the night Johnson disappeared, which they said conflicts with statements made to police.

A search of the state park turned up no evidence related to the case, police said.

Officers did not say whose blood was collected in the sample tested at a crime laboratory.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/25912372/detail.html

Search for missing NKY teen Paige Johnson takes another twist

COVINGTON – A dried red substance found in the kitchen sink of the man who was last seen with missing 17-year-old Paige Johnson was not blood.

Investigators had cited the existence of what appeared to be dried blood near two latex gloves when they obtained search warrants for Jacob Bumpass’ Taylor Mill apartment, phone and two cars he was known to drive.While Bumpass has never been named a suspect in Paige’s Sept. 23 disappearance, the 22-year-old remained at the Kenton County jail Wednesday night on a parole violation. Authorities are trying to send him back to prison for providing alcohol to Paige, among other things.Covington police did recover a small amount of blood from one of the cars its investigators searched, but it didn’t match Paige’s DNA, said Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders, who has seen some of the long-awaited lab results from the Kentucky State Police crime lab.

The report said the blood was from an unidentified woman and was found in the passenger seat of 1999 black Mazda owned by Bumpass’ brother. Sanders said investigators were unsure what vehicle Bumpass had driven the night Paige disappeared.

Investigators zeroed in on the car after an acquaintance of Bumpass said the Mazda had been extensively cleaned two or three days after Johnson’s disappearance. Covington police are still holding the Mazda along with a 2008 black Hyundai registered in Ohio to Bumpass’ mother.

“The good news is there is still a possibility Paige Johnson is alive and well,” Sanders said.

He said the bad news is investigators do not have the forensic proof connecting Johnson to Bumpass they were hoping to get. If it had been Paige’s blood, Sanders said there was a possibility of indicting Bumpass on a charge such as tampering with evidence.

“It is still a very active ongoing investigation,” Sanders said. “Investigators are going to leave no stone unturned. This wasn’t the breakthrough we had hoped it would be, but it doesn’t change the intensity in which the investigating is being undertaken.”

Covington police Lt. Col. Spike Jones said investigators want to speak with Bumpass, who has hired lawyer Bob Lotz and refused to cooperate.

“We are still of the belief that Mr. Bumpass could tie up a number of these loose ends for us if he would be willing to sit down and talk,” Jones said, adding that it’s still an active investigation.
http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20101124/NEWS010704/311240105

December 17th 2010

COVINGTON, Ky. - Jacob Bumpass, the last man to see missing teen mom
Paige Johnson, will remain in jail after a judge ruled on his parole
violations. A judge threw out four of his seven parole
violations; three charges remain, after a Nov. 17 preliminary parole
revocation hearing was held. The entire case will now head back to the
parole board in Frankfort, Ky., where they will decide whether or not
Bumpass, of Taylor Mill, violated his parole on those charges. The
charges remaining include possession of drugs and alcohol found in his
apartment during a search. The parole board will decide whether or not
he should be sent back to prison based on those violations. Bumpass, 22, was originally paroled from a theft conviction in July 2009. He was taken into custody Oct. 4, after police searched his residence and found alcohol just after Johnson, 17, went missing. The
Florence teenager went missing Sept. 23 after Bumpass said he dropped
her off at 15th and Scott St. in Covington, Ky. He was the last person
to see her. Bumpass has not been charged in that case. Anyone
with information should contact the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST ) or call the
Covington Police Department at (859) 292-2222.
http://www.kypost.com/dpp/news/region_northern_kentucky/taylor_mill/jacob-bumpass-to-remain-in-jail-after-parole-hearing

COVINGTON, Ky. -- The family of a
missing northern Kentucky teenager is trying to celebrate the holidays
the best way they know how -- by helping others.


Paige Johnson, 17, was last seen three months ago.On
Wednesday, her mother, Donna, and those close to her, delivered cookies
to the Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, which provides services for
individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming
homeless."I really know what it feels like to be down at
Christmastime because this is a very sad Christmas for me," Donna
Johnson said. "We just wanted to brighten up someone else's Christmas
and try to give back a little."The cookies were also going to be shared with the Covington Women's Crisis Center."We've
got a lot of kids staying at the shelter right now who are going to
love these," said Ashley Anderson, development coordinator for the
Welcome House.The Johnson family is giving back to the community that has supported them throughout the search for their missing daughter.The
community even came forward on Tuesday night to give toys and other
donations to Paige Johnson's daughter, 2-year-old McKenzie, who is
living with her father."It shows that there's a lot of love in
the world, that people do care that don't even know us or know Paige,"
said Garry Johnson, Paige's father.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/26249343/detail.html

Parole Revoked For Man Seen With Missing Teen


Slideshow
Jacob Bumpass at his parole hearing on November 17, 2010. (WKRC-TV)The Kentucky Parole Board has revoked to parole of a man who may have
been the last person to see a missing Northern Kentucky teen. Jacob
Bumpass is not charged in the disappearance of Paige Johnson but he has
been questioned in the case and has been held behind bars since she went
missing on unrelated charges.

Today, the Parole Board said
Bumpass must serve out the remainder of his sentence on two theft
charges for which he was paroled. The board cited use of alcohol and
marijuana by Bumpass, who admitted today that he had an alcohol
addiction.

Johnson was last seen September 23rd. Bumpass
originally said he dropped her off at 15th Street and Scott Street in
Covington. He ran from police when they tried to question him about the
case.

Bumpass did not testify at his parole hearing in November
but several key players in the Paige Johnson investigation did. Paige's
mother Donna Johnson took the stand, sobbing through five minutes of
testimony about her conversation with Jacob two days after her daughter
disappeared. Donna says Jacob told her that he and Paige had a couple of
beers on the night Paige was last seen. A Covington detective also
testified that Bumpass's cell phone hit or "pinged" off towers near East
Fork Lake State Park in Ohio.

Bumpass's lawyer said no one has
testified to seeing Jacob in Ohio that night or any other night. He also
raised the possibility that Bumpass's cell phone pinged off towers in
Ohio while he was still in Kentucky.

Bumpass will now have to
stay in jail for at least two more years... in January 2013... at that
time he will have another parole hearing.

http://www.local12.com/content/breaking_news/story/Parole-Revoked-For-Man-Seen-With-Missing-Teen/BY1oAKMnr02czJCD-Su57Q.cspx