Late last week, we reported on Karine Martins’ posts about Paul Staehle disappearing in Brazil.
With only limited information from Karine and (indirectly) from Paul’s mom, Mary, it looks like he became lost.
Some fans wondered if it was a prank. Others speculated that, after days missing, he might be dead.
The US consulate became involved in the search for him. Now, one piece of evidence has turned up to suggest that he’s alive … but not home safe.
This is a deeply weird and upsetting (in more ways than one) situation. So let’s start at the beginning.
90 Day Fiance alum Paul Staehle went missing in Brazil during the final week of August.
Ex-wife Karine Martins, who is from Brazil, appears to still be in the US. Paul has been working in Brazil while the two attempt to regain custody of their sons.
“Paul went missing last night in Brazil,” Karine shared on Instagram on Thursday, August 31.
That means that Paul allegedly disappeared on Wednesday.
“Prayers he is found safe,” she wrote.
It looks like Karine was already assuming the worst.
She alarmed fans and followers when, just two days after Paul vanished, she posted an in memoriam style montage of photos of Paul.
That seems premature, unless she heard confirmation that something had happened. For example, if authorities had found a body.
And then it got even stranger.
Karine posted something about life insurance.
It did not appear to be a sponsored post. Was Karine expecting a payout? That was just … deeply weird.
To be clear, Karine was not and has never been the sole source of reports about Paul going missing.
In addition to the absence of any updates from Paul on his Instagram, we also know that Mary lost touch with him.
Paul texted her, telling her that he had “f–ked up” and was stuck in a remote area. Others in Brazil said that Paul was in a dangerous situation and worried that his life was at risk. So no, it’s not just Karine.
This was all deeply weird, and fans wondered what to think of all of this. Paul and Karine are notorious for poor decision-making. But … what if Paul had died?
Eventually, Brazilian authorities took up the case. Remember, Paul is a grown man — no one’s going to start a manhunt when he’s been missing for a few hours.
Eventually, Paul’s mother, Mary, was able to contact the US Embassy. 90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates apparently got to participate (or at least listen to) the call.
Then came good news. Weird news, but good.
On Sunday, September 3, Paul called John Yates, reporting that the “signal is insanely bad.”
He shared that he was “in a small indigenous community” at the time and hoped to hear back. Presumably, he also contacted his mother.
Paul also appeared on a friend’s Instagram. This is a friend who, it seems, was the one trying to coordinate a search for him after he vanished.
What’s odd is that Paul took the time to change his Instagram — setting it to private, then to public, then back to private — and delete a lot of older posts.
And he even posted a clarification, shooting down romance rumors about him and his friend.
Why would Paul post about this instead of reassuring everyone that he’s okay? Or, better yet, walking people through what happened. People feared for his life.
A current video of Paul explaining what went down, and thanking people for their concern, would go a long way.
Especially since there are some fans who don’t feel entirely convinced that Paul has control of his account. A short voicemail is not enough to put these doubts to rest.
Karine also acknowledged that Paul was okay. She defended her ex, and also asked people to stop sending her hate mail.
We should acknowledge that people said cruel, unhinged things to Karine over the past week.
Some accused of her being “in on” a fake disappearance with Paul. Others claimed that she’d had him assassinated. For now, let’s try to be less unhinged.
Paul Staehle is Allegedly Alive After Bizarre Disappearance was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.