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

Bump (ass - fess) up!
Paige's case was detailed with HLN's 50 in 50 tonight.
From what I can gather, those Bumpass boys have some 'splainin to do!
The one who gave her the ride (purportedly), has shut his trap tighter than a Florida 'gator. He's lawyered up and refuses to take a poly...

25th March 2011
COVINGTON, Ky. - Flyers with Paige Johnson’s face imprinted on them
have gone missing and blown away with the wind over the last six months
since the 17-year-old disappeared. Now family and friends want to make
sure the teen mom is fresh in everyone’s mind. “[We] need more
focus on making it real. If it’s in your face, how can you ignore it?”
Paige’s grandmother Sharon Johnson of Florence, Ky. asked. “I want it in
their face—it’s the only way to find Paige.” The case of the
missing teen first gained local and then national attention. That
attention has now slowed but the community wants to change that and
regenerate interest at the local level in solving the disappearance of
Paige. Paige disappeared Sept. 23, 2010 from a Covington
intersection, where 22-year-old Jacob Bumpass told police that he
dropped her off at Scott and 15th streets at 1 a.m. And that’s where
folks will gather on April 8 to keep her name in sight and in mind. It’s
time to put the focus back on Paige, said Charles Jones, a family
friend who is organizing an event to do just that and which is simply
dubbed “You have not been forgotten!” All who attend the event
next month will light candles and put up flyers, as well as hear from
the police about any leads or updates, said Jones, formerly of
Covington. He said that he met Paige’s mother Donna at the local grocery
store just days after the young mother disappeared. At the time, he
said, he offered to put flyers in his car’s windows, and they have been
there ever since. “I’d like to get as many people as I can
together to show that ‘hey, you guys are still in our hearts—we love
your daughter and she is not forgotten.” For him, it’s about never giving up. “It’s like a soldier being lost in the war and you want to find them.” “I
hope it sticks in everybody’s mind to keep searching and not forget the
kids that are missing—not just Paige but everybody – because, what if
it was your child? That family has gone through a lot of trouble and
heartache.” For “Grandma Sharon,” as Paige called her, the heartache has not subsided. When
Paige first disappeared, her thought was “Oh, she’ll just be gone a
little while, she’ll be back.” Six months later, she is still waiting
for her “really special… tiny, but mighty” granddaughter to return. “In
my heart of hearts, I believe she’s alive. I want to believe that. And I
want to have hope—I’ve got God in my heart and he gives me hope.” When
Paige was a little girl, she said she wrote her a little note on a
piece of paper for an angel notebook. It said: “Angels watching over me
so nobody bothers me.” She told her to put it on her dresser and that
angels would watch over her. “I believe an angel is watching over
her if she’s alive and if she is not, I believe that an angel took her
in her arms and took Paige to a good place,” said the heartbroken
grandmother in tears. “We’re just taking it day by day and
hopping that each day that the police will come closer and closer to
finding out where she’s at and what happened to her,” said Sharon, who
lost her daughter to suicide 21 years ago. She said she has never truly gotten over that tragedy but at least she knew what happened to her. The Covington Police Department said an investigator is dedicated to the case and Paige’s case is a top priority. “It’s not on the back burner,” Lt. Col. Spike Jones said. National attention on shows like HLN’s Nancy Grace has brought some tips to the police. Police
Capt. Teal Nally, who spearheaded the missing person’s investigation,
told the Nancy Grace show on March 7, that while the searching for Paige
is still on, an extensive search back in October resulted in no new
information. Authorities searched East Fork State Park in October
2010 after Bumpass’ cell phone records indicated that his phone pinged
off of towers in Batavia, Ohio, near the park, and nearly 30 miles from
where he said he dropped Paige off in Northern Kentucky. Police brought
in searchers from 30 different agencies, but found nothing pertaining to
the investigation. “We had a large-scale search in that area. We
had over 100 searchers from police departments, fire departments,
search and rescue teams. We had 17 dog teams that were out there
featuring cadaver dogs and tracking dogs. And we really just have not
found anything at that park that has led us in the right direction.” At
this point, Nally said the focus is still on Bumpass, who now has an
attorney and has not talked to police about the case since his initial
interview. He is currently in jail on a probation violation and is not
set for release until at least 2013. He has not been charged in Paige’s
disappearance. The police, as well as and Paige’s family and friends have not given up on finding her. “A
lot have forgotten, we’re still looking. [We want to] get the word out
and keep the word out,” said Jones. “We can do this. If one person can
make a difference, but you get a bunch of people together, you’d be
amazed at what can happen.”
Read next page/see video at;
http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/local_news/community,-family-remember-missing-teen-mom_6199032

After Florence teen Paige Johnson went missing Sept. 22, her
2-year-old daughter Makenzie would cry for her mother every time someone
came into the door.Six months later, Makenzie has stopped asking for her mother."She
is too young to understand what is going on right now," said Paige's
grandmother, Sharon Johnson, 68, of Florence, "but Makenzie will grow up
not knowing what happened to her mother."Paige's family hopes
community awareness of the disappearance, brought by events like a
candlelight vigil set for 6 p.m. April 8 at the corner of 15th and Scott
streets, will help find Makenzie's mother.The Covington street corner is where Paige was reportedly last seen.The
vigil is being organized by a 50-year-old unemployed Norwood resident
who never met Paige and doesn't know her family. He first learned of the
disappearance when someone handed him a missing poster while he shopped
last year at a Kroger store."I'm just letting the family know
she hasn't been forgotten," said organizer Charles Jones. "Nobody has
forgotten her. We all have her in our hearts."Jones still puts up missing posters across Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati."I
started seeing people tearing them down," he said. "It was like, my
God, they leave dog posters up longer. It is a human that is missing,
and here these people are tearing the signs down as you put them up. It
kind of hurt."Jones' red 1998 Ford Explorer is plastered with
missing posters for Paige. He has one on the passenger side rear window
and one on his driver side rear window, in addition to notices about the
vigil on his bumper."If it was my child, my sister, my
girlfriend or my grandchild, I would want someone to do what I'm doing,"
said Jones, who has stepchildren.Before Paige disappeared, she
had given custody of Makenzie to the child's father and his family, but
she remained active in her child's life. Makenzie continues to be raised
by her father's family and is a healthy child, Johnson said.She
said Paige's family is grateful for the community support. In the months
after the disappearance, more than 17,000 people visited a Facebook
page dedicated to Paige's life.Two YouTube videos about her have
each been viewed about 2,000 times. The videos contain photos of Paige
as a baby, subsequent birthday parties and summer outings where Paige is
being held by smiling parents."We hope she is alive," Johnson
said. "That is what we hope. Our hope is she is alive and well, but you
know, that is something we don't know."We love Paige. We want her
back home - no matter what. If she is out there and afraid to come
home, she doesn't need to be afraid. There is nothing to fear."Covington
police Lt. Col. Spike Jones said detectives will continue to
investigate the case until it is resolved, but there hasn't been a major
development since the last person known to have been with Paige was
sent back to prison in October for violating his parole in Kentucky.The
parole board found that Jacob Bumpass, 22, violated the terms of his
release by using marijuana and possessing alcohol while on parole after
being convicted of two counts of theft by unlawful taking in Kenton and
Boone counties.He remained at the Department of Corrections'
Assessment and Classification Center in LaGrange on Friday while
officials determine where he will serve out his sentence. Bumpass is
currently scheduled to be released in July 2013.Paige, 17, was
last seen getting into Bumpass' car at the home in Florence she shared
with her mother. He told detectives that he dropped off Paige at the
corner of 15th and Scott streets, but then stopped cooperating with
authorities.Authorities have never named him as a suspect in the
case but they have searched his home, car, brother's car and subpoenaed
his mobile phone records.The phone records led to several
searches at 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."To have someone
who knows something who won't speak up and give us closure is just
devastating," Johnson said. "How could anyone be so heartless?"Anyone
with information on this case is asked to call Covington police at
859-292-2222 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
at 800-843-5678.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110402/NEWS010703/104030321/6-months-later-still-no-sign-of-Paige-Johnson?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

It's been almost a year since Paige Johnson went missing and her
family is not giving up hope that she will be found. Ever since the 17
year old disappeared on September 23, 2010, the city of Covington has
been plastered with fliers but now, some of those fliers have been torn
down. Local 12's Angela Ingram talked to Paige's grandmother about the
order to remove the fliers.

Johnson's grandmother, Jenny
Roderick, spends a lot of time putting up fliers in Northern Kentucky
cities. but the city manager of Covington says they'll have to come down
off his city's utility poles, because they're illegal.

In the
heat of summer, Jenny Roderick is putting up flayers. On Monday, she
was at work in Independence. "I do this, unless my daughter needs me at
home."

She hopes the fliers remind the public that her
granddaughter is still missing. "We still want people to know that that
she's not found. And that, you know, there's tons of people that love
her."

But last week, while Roderick was putting up the fliers in
Covington, a police officer stopped her. "He wasn't mean or anything, he
was just insistent that I had to take them down. And by the time I was
walking back after he left, I was crying."

The officer suggested
put them up in legal spots like store windows, and bulletin boards.
"Some businesses will let us put them up in the windows but not very
many."

Jenny chose utility poles because of their high
visibility. "It has affected our whole family. We miss her something
fierce. And we want her home, you know, even if it is the other way. We
still want her home and this is what keeps me going."

A
spokesperson for Covington Police said the officer only stopped and
confronted Paige's grandmother because the city received a complaint.
The city manager says, that regardless of what the posters say, they
have to come down, and he says, although he must enforce the current
ordinance, the city has no intention of being insensitive to her
family.

Jacob Bumpus is the last person known to see Paige Johnson alive. He is locked up on a parole violation.

http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Grandmother-Forced-To-Remove-Flyers-of-Missing/cesI_xT8nkmY8P1KyDCtAA.cspx

FLORENCE, Ky. -- Monday was Paige Johnson's 18th birthday, but the day serves instead of another reminder of her disappearance.The
Florence teen was last seen Sept. 25, and her cellphone last registered
on a tower east of Cincinnati, leading police to search the area around
East Fork Lake.But no evidence was found at the state park, and the mystery about her disappearance remains unsolved.Investigators
focused their attention on Jacob Bumpass, the last person known to have
seen Johnson alive, but he has not been charged in connection with the
case.His parole was revoked on unrelated charges and he remains jailed.A
series of vigils and efforts to keep Johnson's name from fading away
from public interest, but even national media attention has been unable
to turn up any sign of what might have happened to the single mother.
Read more: http://www.wlwt.com/news/29018337/detail.html#ixzz1WT2BPPbM

Balloons floated in the breeze at a picnic
shelter in Edgewood Monday evening as friends and family gathered to
mark Paige Johnson's 18th birthday.

The teen was last seen September
23, 2010 in Covington.

Knowing they would not be able to give Paige a
gift on her birthday, the family decided it would be appropriate to
give a gift to the detectives who has spent the last 11 months working
on Johnson's case.

Johnson's cousin, Andrea Stetter, said that
after all this time the family doesn't understand why no one has come
forward with information about Johnson's disappearance. Every day,
Stetter says, they wake up missing Paige and go to bed missing Paige.
She pleaded with the public to speak up with even the smallest bit of
information.

Loved ones used markers to write messages to
Paige on a bunch of balloons, and then sang happy birthday, and released
them. The group closed with a prayer, in thanksgiving for Paige's
life, and for healing for those who miss her.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Covington Police Department. There is a $3500 reward.

Paige Johnson's Mom Wants Daughter's Abductor To 'Do The Right Thing'


The mother of missing Kentucky teen Paige Johnson has a message for
the individual or individuals responsible for her daughter's
disappearance: "I just wish they would tell us please what happened and
where she is at. Have a heart and do the right thing."


In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Donna Johnson of Florence, Ky., spoke of the incidents leading up to her 17-year-old daughter's abduction.


Paige has been missing since Sept. 23, 2010, when she went to hang
out with a 22-year-old acquaintance named Jacob Bumpass, of nearby
Taylor Mill, Ky.
"The night she left, she came in my bedroom and I thought she said
she was going to her sister Brittney's with a friend of hers named
Jason. I let her go because I know Jason -- he lives upstairs in the
same building. He has picked her up before and took her there," Paige's
mother said. "My daughter left and I have not seen or talked to her
again."


Roughly two hours later, at about midnight, Paige sent a Facebook
message to her older sister, Brittany Haywood. Paige wrote, "GIRL. I
need To Talk To You IMMEDIATELY!"
Unfortunately, Haywood never got a chance to find out what her sister wanted.
Questioned by police, Bumpass claimed he dropped Paige off at about 1
a.m. near the corner of 15th Street and Scott Boulevard in Covington,
Ky., which is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. No one has seen her
since.


Donna Johnson said she is skeptical about Bumpass' story.
"She wouldn't just get out on a dark street corner four blocks from
where she was going," she said. "It wasn't even on the same street. She
would have had to make a couple turns, and she doesn't even know that
area to know where to make the turns in the middle of the night or early
hours of the morning," Johnson said.
"None of it makes sense."


According to police, Bumpass' cellphone records show his phone was
not in Covington at the time he said he dropped off Paige, and that it
had pinged off a tower in nearby Florence.


Cell phone records further indicate that at about 4:13 a.m., Bumpass'
phone pinged a tower in Batavia, Ohio, and then again, five minutes
later, off another tower near Half Acre Road in Batavia. The last
location is close to East Fork Lake, an Ohio state park that is 25 miles
east of Cincinnati.


After reviewing Bumpass' cellphone records, authorities decided to
center their search on East Fork State Park. According to the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources, it is one of Ohio's largest state
parks, covering 4,870 acres. The park's terrain "includes both rugged
hills and open meadows," according to the state agency's website.


Investigators started their search by clearing the park’s 2,160-acre
William H. Harsha Lake, which is more than 100 feet deep in some parts.
More than 100 searchers on ATVs and horseback also spread out in the
area. Nothing was found during either search.


On Oct. 4, 2010, Bumpass, who is on parole for a theft conviction,
was taken into custody for violating his parole because he had alcohol
and weapons in his home, authorities said.
For nearly a year, the search for Paige has continued. The Covington
Police Department has not returned multiple calls from The Huffington
Post, but according to Paige's mother, investigators have told her the
case is "far from cold."


Bumpass has not been named as a suspect in Paige's disappearance. He
remains behind bars in Kenton County Jail for the parole violation.


Paige's daughter turned 3 years old last month. Donna Johnson said
the girl still does not understand what happened to her mother.


"I get her on the weekends," Johnson said. "She will ask where her mom is or say she wants to find her. It is horrible."


Johnson and her mother, Jenny Roderick, do whatever they can to raise
awareness, including posting missing person flyers throughout the area
-- something that recently caused a bit of a controversy when a
Covington police officer asked her not to post the flyers on utility
poles because it violates a city ordinance.


Contacted by The Huffington Post, Covington City Manager Larry Klein said a citizen complaint prompted the city to get involved.


"We got a complaint from a citizen about the number of flyers," Klein
said. "One of our officers approached the grandmother who had been
putting them up and let her know it wasn't permitted."


When local media got wind of the thwarted poster campaign, Roderick
gave reporters several interviews, which, according to Johnson, caused
the city to lighten up on their posting of the flyers.


"The news got involved [and] then the police chief got on there and said he wouldn't take them down," Johnson said.


While the flyer battle appears to be over, the search for Paige
continues. Someone, somewhere knows what happened, and her mother is
hopeful they will come forward with information.


"They need to do the right thing and let us know where she is,"
Johnson said. "She doesn't deserve to be thrown somewhere like a piece
of trash. What if it was your sister or your daughter? Put yourself in
our shoes. I beg you to tell us, I beg you."


A $3,500 reward is being offered for information regarding Paige
Johnson's whereabouts. Anyone with information is asked to call the
Covington Police Department at (859) 292-2222 or The National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/paige-johnson-missing_n_909968.html#s316254&title=Paige_Johnson

In an attempt to get answers, the mother of a missing Northern Kentucky teenager said she plans to declare her deceased.

Paige Johnson was last seen on September 23, 2010 when a friend of hers, Jacob Bumpass,
said he dropped her off at 15th and Scott Streets in Covington.
However, despite search efforts, Paige hasn't been seen or heard from
since that day.

"When I look at pictures, I just wanna reach
in there and kiss her and touch her face, tell her I love her and I miss
her," said Donna Johnson, Paige's mother.

Johnson believes Bumpass knows where her baby is located, but he's not talking.

"He won't say anything," said Johnson. "It's a year of him being quiet and silent, and a year of our family just devastated."

Bumpass is currently behind bars on a parole
violation. He's never been named a suspect in Paige's disappearance, but
Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders has told FOX19 that police still have
an interest in his connection to Paige.

To get Bumpasss to open up, Johnson's attorney Eric Deters is going to sue Bumpass, but first, Paige must be declared deceased.

"It's very tough to do that, but I think it's the only way that I'm going to get any answers," said Johnson.

Deters plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit
against Bumpass next week. Deters said Bumpass will then not be able to
keep quiet by pleading the fifth amendment because it'll be a civil
case instead of a criminal one.

"Losing a child is the worst, but worst than
that, I think, is losing a child and you think they're dead but you
don't know where they are and you have no closure," said Deters.

Deters is doing this work for free.

Johnson also wants to put an end to rumors about her stealing money in Paige's name.

Johnson said she's never raised funds and
used them on herself, but says others have done that act. Johnson said
some strangers have created fake Facebook pages in Paige's name. Deters
also plans to appoint Johnson the administrator of Paige's estate to
stop the unauthorized fundraising. In the end, it's a fight that Johnson
said is worth it if it'll help her provide answers to Paige's three
year old daughter.

"She tells us to find her," said Johnson. "She pretends to text her on the phone, and it breaks our hearts."

There is $3,500 reward being offered for information leading to Paige's whereabouts.
http://www.fox19.com/story/15452282/paige

BELLEVUE - Donna Johnson has refocused her life on the
four children she is currently raising since her teenage daughter went
missing one year ago this week.
"It keeps me busy," Johnson said
of the children, whose ages range from 1 to 12. "If it wasn't for them, I
honestly don't know how I would go on. If I didn't have the kids who
need me, I don't know where I would be. I know I'm needed, so I make
sure I take care of myself for them. At first that was really hard to
do."
Johnson last saw her teenage daughter, Paige, when she left
the family's home in Florence to visit some friends in Covington on
Sept. 22, 2010. She was reported missing the following day.
Johnson,
who has since moved to Walton, said the loss killed her soul, but that
she has been reborn a stronger, more focused woman.
"The old me,
the person I was on Sept. 22, 2010, is gone," the 38-year-old said.
"It's like I died and I'm trying to learn how to live again. I don't
think I would be able to if I didn't have my kids and my grandkids. That
is what gives me a reason to go on. And to try to do the best I can do
so their lives can be good."
Her family and mothers of other
missing children provide the support network Johnson credits with
helping her survive. Johnson recently participated in the search for
Katelyn Markham, the 22-year-old Fairfield woman who disappeared Aug.
14.
"I have a wonderful family," Johnson said. "We are all
suffering through this, but we are all holding on to each other even
tighter."
She also gets to see Paige's 3-year-old daughter,
Makenzie, on the weekends. Makenzie is being raised by her father and
his family.
"She just melts my heart," Johnson said of Makenzie.
"I just look at her and see Paige. I want to be there for her as much as
I can for as long as I can. She means so much for me, and I'm so happy
Paige had her. She is a blessing."
Johnson said she is again learning to enjoy life.
"For
a long time, I couldn't even feel happy," she said. "I know now I need
to do those things for my children. I need to laugh with them. I need to
play with them.
"It was hard at first because I felt numb. How
could anything be the same without Paige? When your child is gone,
nothing is the same. I can't explain exactly how, but it is just not.
The world is turned upside down."
Johnson said she is finding joy
in the more mundane things in life - getting dinner for the family,
bathing the children, reading them books and cuddling with them before
bedtime.
"I spend a lot of time holding on to them because you
never know when they could disappear," she said. "You just never think
something is going to happen, and when it does, it's a shock."
Johnson said she lives her life in fear of another loved one disappearing.
"You
just hold on to them very tight," she said. "You take every day, every
opportunity, to let them know how much you love them and make sure you
do everything you can do to make their lives great - make sure they
know they are loved."
Johnson said she is not emotionally prepared
to admit that Paige may be dead, but she is preparing to ask the courts
to declare her daughter deceased. Her attorney, Eric Deters, said that
would allow Johnson to be appointed administrator of Paige's estate and
file a wrongful death suit against Jacob Bumpass, the last person seen
with Paige.
Covington police Lt. Col. Spike Jones said detectives
will continue to investigate the case even if the courts act on
Johnson's request.
Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders said authorities will not stop investigating until they find the truth.
"It is still an open, ongoing and very active investigation," he said Thursday. "I was just working on it as recently as today."
Jones and Sanders said they are pursuing leads but would not elaborate on any clues they may have uncovered.
http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110918/NEWS0103/109180381/Missing-teen-s-mom-coping?odyssey=nav|head

COVINGTON, Ky -- Three local moms came
together Friday night to mark the first year anniversary of a missing
teenager, while remembering two others who are also missing.The
mothers said they never wanted to meet and they never would have, was it
not for what they have in common now. They said they don't know what
they would do without each otherDonna Johnson said she still
doesn't know what happened to her daughter, Paige, who disappeared a
year ago. Another mom, Debbie Estes, said she wants to know why her
son, Billy, vanished last spring.The third mom, Debbie Culberson,
said she has been looking for her daughter, Carrie, who disappeared 15
years ago. Although a man was convicted of Carrie's murder, Culberson
said her daughter's body was never found.On Friday, Estes and Culberson said they came together for Johnson."This
day last year, I was just so scared, running out, (saying) 'Where's
Paige?' I didn't think it'd be like this for a whole year," Johnson
said.On Thursday night, the mothers were supporting Estes, who celebrated her son's birthday even though he wasn't there."When
you're having a bad day and you write something down, you have someone
who knows how you feel, exactly how you feel," Estes said.The three women said they were tied together by three unforgettable dates."The
22nd of September was the last day I spent with Paige. It was also
Billy's birthday, and Paige's birthday is the day that Debbie believes
that Carrie died," Johnson said.There are no new leads in any of their cases, but they said they're comforted because they're not searching alone.
Read more: http://www.wlwt.com/news/29286255/detail.html#ixzz1YvtcNJrN

The mother of Paige Johnson, the 17-year-old Florence mother who
disappeared last year, will tell her story on Maury Povich’s show,
“Maury,” on Thursday.Donna Johnson last
saw her teenage daughter when Paige left the family's home in Florence
to visit friends in Covington on Sept. 22, 2010. She was reported
missing the following day. The show is working in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to seek the public’s help in finding Paige Johnson during the “Missing Kids” episode on Thursday.
Donna Johnson told the Enquirer
last month that said she is not emotionally prepared to admit that
Paige may be dead, but she is preparing to ask the courts to declare her
daughter deceased. Her attorney, Eric Deters, said that would allow
Johnson to be appointed administrator of Paige's estate and file a
wrongful death suit against Jacob Bumpass, the last person seen with
Paige.
Covington
police Lt. Col. Spike Jones told the Enquirer that detectives will
continue to investigate the case even if the courts act on Johnson's
request.
The show will air locally on WSTR Channel 64 at 5 p.m. Thursday.
http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20111005/NEWS010703/111005018/Missing-teen-s-mom-Maury-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Crews search Knox County for missing Covington teenager

Reporter: Angela Sparkman
Posted: Mon 6:31 PM, Jul 30, 2012
Updated: Mon 7:49 PM, Jul 30, 2012

The search for a missing Covington teenager moves to Knox County.

Police say authorities in Ohio got a tip that missing 17 year old Paige Johnson might be buried off of Route 229 near Barbourville.

Friday night, police dug up the area but did not find anything.

A hole the size of a swimming pool sits on the hillside next to the intersection of Route 229 and 1304.

"We were unable to find any evidence of Paige Johnson," said Det. Mark Mefford, Kentucky State Police.

Paige Johnson disappeared on September 23rd, 2010. Officials say she left her home in Florence to visit friends in Covington.

The Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney says officials in southern Ohio received a tip Johnson was buried in Knox County at the site.

Four hours of digging up land and sifting through dirt found nothing.

Knox County Coroner Mike Blevins used his backhoe to search. "Searched a lot bigger area than what they said. Took it all the way down to solid rock but was unsuccessful. If it was there, we'd have found it," Blevins said.

Even though they did not find anything at the site, investigators are still looking into possibilities the teenager is in Knox County.

"We're still investigating all leads and we're not willing to dismiss anything right now," said Det. Mefford.

"We wish we'd found something for the family but nothing at this time," said Blevins.

Covington Police say they will not give up looking for Johnson. They ask anyone with information to come forward. Anyone with information on Paige Johnson's disappearance should call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2222.

http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Crews-search-Knox-County-for-missing-Covington-teenager-164327496.html

Family, community gather for fourth anniversary of teen mom's disappearance

Holly Pennebaker, John Genovese
9:34 PM, Sep 23, 2014
6:56 AM, Sep 24, 2014

COVINGTON, Ky. -- A Northern Kentucky teen mother hasn't been seen since her disappearance four years ago, but her family's memories of her will never fade.

As they have in previous years, Paige Johnson's family gathered in Covington's Goebel Park Tuesday evening, the fourth anniversary of her Sept. 23, 2010 vanishing.

Paige was last seen by Jacob Bumpass, 22, at 1 a.m. when he said he dropped her off in Covington, at 15th and Scott streets.

Even though numerous searches for Paige have turned up empty, her family and community hope she's "still out there."

We've met down here the last 3 years, gathering in a place where a lot of people could come and gather with us," Johnson's aunt, Rhonda Stadtmiller said. "It's a daughter that's missing ... it's a sister ... it's a cousin ... it's a niece, granddaughter ... it's a mother. We'll never quit looking, even if it's just us that show up here."

Gary Johnson misses his daughter's smile and character every minute she's gone.

"She's very loving and compassionate person and that's what sticks in my mind all the time is that smile - it'd light a room up," he said.

His determination remains as strong as ever.

"We will not stop until we find her ... we will, definitely," Johnson said. "There's definitely hope and we're never gonna give up hope."

Investigators share the family's drive to find Paige, and say their search efforts haven't slowed.

"A mother is missing their daughter and her daughter's missing her mother. That's what keeps you going and that's what keeps our team going," Dave Rader of the Texas Equusearch Ohio Chapter said.

"We just have to keep our eye on the prize and that's bringing her home."

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/kenton-county/covington/family-community-gather-for-fourth-anniversary-of-teen-moms-disappearance