In August of 2007, 50-year-old Paul Elliott disappeared from Alliance, Ohio. According to Paul’s brother-in-law, Phil, Paul left home on his bicycle.
At first, Paul’s family believed he had likely gone to the rural trailer property where he sometimes stayed when he needed space. But when Paul’s son, Bryan, checked the property, the trailer was locked, and there was no sign of Paul or his bicycle.
Bryan checked the places Paul was known to go, contacted friends and family, repeatedly returned to the trailer property, and hung missing person flyers throughout town. But no one could confirm seeing Paul after the day Phil said he rode away.
Meanwhile, a strange rumor began to spread that Paul had gone to Alaska. No one seemed to know where the story originated, but somehow, it took hold. Some family members were told Paul was in Alaska, not that he was missing. For years, that rumor gave some people hope, while others questioned whether it was true at all.
As time passed, Bryan became increasingly skeptical. Paul had left behind his phone, wallet, identification, Social Security card, and even the backpack he usually carried when riding his bike, hardly the belongings of someone preparing to start over thousands of miles away.
Then, in 2013, nearly six years after Paul disappeared, Bryan made a discovery that changed everything. Inside Paul’s locked trailer, Bryan found Paul’s bicycle hidden in the back room. That discovery raised an entirely new set of questions. Had Paul hidden it himself? Had someone else put it there? And if the bike had been there all along, what did that mean?
This week, in Part 2, we follow what happened after that discovery: the renewed investigation, the search of the trailer property, cadaver dog alerts, the strange and shifting Alaska stories, and troubling details buried in the police file that Bryan had never been told.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Paul Elliott, please contact the Alliance Police Department at 330-821-9140.