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<\/p>\nRoxanne Paltauf was just 18 when she went missing from the Budget Inn off North I-35 and East Rundberg Lane.<\/p>\n
AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Twenty years after a teen girl went missing from North Austin, her family is getting a new opportunity to bring attention to her case.<\/p>\n
On July 7, 2006, Roxanne Paltauf vanished from the Budget Inn off North Interstate 35 and East Rundberg Lane.<\/p>\n
“She was gorgeous,” said Rosa Schultz, Paltauf’s sister. “Absolutely gorgeous.”<\/p>\n
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Next week, Paltauf’s face will tower above Austin on a billboard. Her sister says the news is promising.<\/p>\n
“It would signify that we, as a community and as a family, haven\u2019t forgotten Roxanne,” she said.<\/p>\n
Austin Police Det. Joe Jedynak hasn’t forgotten her either. He encouraged Paltauf’s family to apply for grant funding from Season of Justice, a nonprofit that supports investigations into unsolved cases.<\/p>\n
“We get $5,000 toward the billboard,” Schultz said.<\/p>\n
The rest of the cost will be covered by Reagan Outdoor Advertising. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Paltauf was just 18 years old when she disappeared. At the time, she was staying at the Budget Inn with her 30-year-old boyfriend, Louis Walls, who has long been considered a person of interest in the case.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s a lot drugs and prostitution at that hotel \u2013 there still is,” Jedynak said. “It hasn\u2019t changed much. You\u2019ve got to consider the clientele.”<\/p>\n
Detectives say Walls has an extensive criminal history, including domestic violence offenses, which has contributed to Paltauf’s family’s suspicions. Walls told police he and Paltauf argued, and then she left.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard to talk about because that’s my sister, but to be completely honest, you know, that’s probably what happened. She was being groomed,” Schultz said. “Whatever happened to her, she was saying no to it.”<\/p>\n