12-year-old Lori Paige was last seen at the 2100 block of Continental Court in Tallahassee, FL, on June 3, 2023.
Eight months later, the police search for the missing child has yielded no results. In February of this year, a diving effort was made to search for Paige in Lake Esther, the central lake of San Luis Mission Park. This search was unsuccessful, as no clues about the child’s disappearance were made.
Neighbors and community members collaborated to distribute posters, organize search parties and raise awareness on social media. The outpouring of support indicates the community’s commitment to finding Lori and returning her home safely.
The underlying issue of this case is that no one has any clues or knows what happened to Paige, including the Tallahassee Police Department(TPD).
Nancy Grace, a well-known television journalist and legal commentator, weighed in on the disappearance of Paige and gave more insight into the investigation. On an episode of Crime Stories, Grace explains that she was reported missing by her father, who works at a local corrections facility.
Margie Summers, a paraprofessional at Griffen Middle School who was close to Paige, was questioned on Paige’s living situation with her father, in which she stated,
“… about a year prior to her disappearance, her mother brought her to the father and basically left her with her father…”
She explained that the father was new to parenting, but the child and her father were figuring it out together. It was also stated that Paige was an outstanding student, which seemed to reflect her at-home life. Summers explained that she was so well-kept and energetic at school that it was hard for her to believe that Paige’s at-home life may not have been all it was made out to be.
“…when I later learned that there were issues, I was actually surprised… I [want to] guess she was struggling with issues at home,” she said.
A continuing issue of the mother’s role in the search efforts has been questioned across multiple platforms, including TikTok, with many users commenting and responding to the mother’s videos, calling out the lack of concern for her daughter’s wellbeing, as she is seen posting lip-syncing videos and dance videos with no call to action for her missing daughter.
Because of the lack of leads in this case, TPD detective Anna Drake concludes that all signs point to Paige’s disappearance being a run-away situation. All though this seems to be a widely-thought outcome within the department, TPD ensures that they will exhaust all options while looking for Paige.
There is currently a $15,000 reward for information leading to Paige’s recovery.