FL FL - Patricia Action, 25, Clearwater, 26 May 1978

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Patricia Elayne Action
Missing since May 26, 1978 from Clearwater, Florida
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: January 4, 1953
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4"; 96 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: Scar on abdomen
AKA: Patty, Patsy, Patricia Woodyard
Other: Medication required


Circumstances of Disappearance

Patty Action was last seen leaving the Ramada Inn Lounge in Clearwater on May 26, 1978.

She left the Lounge around 11:30 pm in her 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.

Patty's car was found abandoned on U.S. 19 in Tarpon Springs on June 1, 1978.

She has not been seen or heard from since.


Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Clearwater Police Department 727-562-4080

Agency Case Number: 78-10244
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Clearwater Police Department
FDLE
The Doe Network: Case File 1947DFFL

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1947dffl.html
 
bumping case up. Next May will mark the 30 year anniversary of Patricia's disappearance.
 
Bumping case up. This case has always intrigued me. I wonder if they had questioned the husband? She was staying with her parents and she was from Sanford,Fl. It would make sense if the husband came to town he may have stayed at a motel like the Days Inn. He could have taken her car there and took his. This doesnt seem random to me.
 
I doubt this matters much but Stetson University is in DeLand, Volusia Co. FL not Sanford (which is in Seminole Co.)

It's so sad this young woman still hasn't been found.
 
There is quite a bit more detail in the newspaper articles that were published shortly after her disappearance. They are scanned images and lengthy, so I cannot transcribe but you can find them in the google news archives by searching her name.

Firstly, the articles list her date of disappearance as 5/27, not 5/26.

According to the articles, she had just started a new job at a tourist attraction/restaurant called the Kapok Tree in Clearwater. She had received her first paycheck and went to the Ramada Inn Lounge after work to celebrate. (She had told her parents not to worry if she came home late)

They actually do not know that she left the lounge in her Chevelle - the articles state that she sat at the Ramada Inn for about 25 minutes, sipped half of her drink, then excused herself from the table to use the restroom. What happened after that is a mystery, she never came back.

When her co-workers were asked what happened to her, they claimed they knew nothing other than that she had left her place of employment the night before.

A few days later they found the car in the parking lot of the Days Inn in Tarpon Springs, and there was blood spatter on the front seat. It was Type O blood but they could not determine if it was O Positive, which is Patty's type. They said there was enough blood that whoever it belonged to had suffered a severe injury. Her purse and shoes were in the car, her keys were missing.

Several volunteer organizations with four-wheelers searched the terrain from Clearwater to Pasco (includes Tarpon Springs) and found no signs of her.

(The above is paraphrased by me)

This brings up a lot of questions.

Was there an exit near the bathrooms? Were her friends not phased by the fact that she got up to use the restroom but never came back?

When they found the blood spatter, did it look like she had been sitting in the driver's seat at the time? Were the seats and mirrors adjusted to her height?

Did she ever go inside the Days Inn?

A couple other things I noticed while searching.

According to the website of the Days Inn, there is a lake directly across the street. There was no mention of the lake being searched, just the ground. Would any sign of her have lasted this long, in a lake? Would it be useful to try using sonar now?

Also, there was an unrelated article published on the day of her disappearance about two male scam artists who had been preying on bystanders that were willing to help out a stranger. Part of the scam involved asking the bystander (victim) for a ride, and later giving the victim some wacky story which would convince the victim to give them money. It did not appear that the scam artists had harmed anyone, but the incidents in the article were cases where the victims fell for the scam and handed over money, and one of the victims drove the scam artists to the same Ramada Inn Lounge two days before Patty disappeared. I wonder what the scam artists would have done if someone caught on to the scam, and threatened to call the police?

Lastly, there was another group of unrelated articles at that same time that stated there were problems at the place Patty was working. One of the directors had just been terminated for mishandling of funds, and he also had prior fraud suits filed against him. He had a part ownership in the business, and after he was terminated, his female partner's step-children were fighting her, they felt they should be entitled to his share. I don't know what position Patty held at the Kapok Tree, but if it was something to do with finance, she may have known something or reported his mishandling of funds??
 
Bumping up this thread due to mentioning Patricia Action in another thread.
 
There is quite a bit more detail in the newspaper articles that were published shortly after her disappearance. They are scanned images and lengthy, so I cannot transcribe but you can find them in the google news archives by searching her name.

Firstly, the articles list her date of disappearance as 5/27, not 5/26.

According to the articles, she had just started a new job at a tourist attraction/restaurant called the Kapok Tree in Clearwater. She had received her first paycheck and went to the Ramada Inn Lounge after work to celebrate. (She had told her parents not to worry if she came home late)

They actually do not know that she left the lounge in her Chevelle - the articles state that she sat at the Ramada Inn for about 25 minutes, sipped half of her drink, then excused herself from the table to use the restroom. What happened after that is a mystery, she never came back.

When her co-workers were asked what happened to her, they claimed they knew nothing other than that she had left her place of employment the night before.

A few days later they found the car in the parking lot of the Days Inn in Tarpon Springs, and there was blood spatter on the front seat. It was Type O blood but they could not determine if it was O Positive, which is Patty's type. They said there was enough blood that whoever it belonged to had suffered a severe injury. Her purse and shoes were in the car, her keys were missing.

Several volunteer organizations with four-wheelers searched the terrain from Clearwater to Pasco (includes Tarpon Springs) and found no signs of her.

(The above is paraphrased by me)

This brings up a lot of questions.

Was there an exit near the bathrooms? Were her friends not phased by the fact that she got up to use the restroom but never came back?

When they found the blood spatter, did it look like she had been sitting in the driver's seat at the time? Were the seats and mirrors adjusted to her height?

Did she ever go inside the Days Inn?

A couple other things I noticed while searching.

According to the website of the Days Inn, there is a lake directly across the street. There was no mention of the lake being searched, just the ground. Would any sign of her have lasted this long, in a lake? Would it be useful to try using sonar now?

Also, there was an unrelated article published on the day of her disappearance about two male scam artists who had been preying on bystanders that were willing to help out a stranger. Part of the scam involved asking the bystander (victim) for a ride, and later giving the victim some wacky story which would convince the victim to give them money. It did not appear that the scam artists had harmed anyone, but the incidents in the article were cases where the victims fell for the scam and handed over money, and one of the victims drove the scam artists to the same Ramada Inn Lounge two days before Patty disappeared. I wonder what the scam artists would have done if someone caught on to the scam, and threatened to call the police?

Lastly, there was another group of unrelated articles at that same time that stated there were problems at the place Patty was working. One of the directors had just been terminated for mishandling of funds, and he also had prior fraud suits filed against him. He had a part ownership in the business, and after he was terminated, his female partner's step-children were fighting her, they felt they should be entitled to his share. I don't know what position Patty held at the Kapok Tree, but if it was something to do with finance, she may have known something or reported his mishandling of funds??

I'm not sure the exact year the Kapok Tree opened in Clearwater on McMullen Booth Rd. It was in the mid to late 70's. Kapok Tree was a restaurant with gardens, the original was in St Petersburg area and this was the second that they opened. There was also a banquet hall where people had their wedding receptions because of the beauty of the gardens and the kapok trees. It's not there any more and has been replaced by a thoroughbreed (sp?) music store. Ruth Eckerd Hall is directly behind the side.

The Ramada Inn in mention had a lounge and a comedian show (G David Howard?).

The lake you mentioned is in Anderson Park I believe and is part of Lake Tarpon. Lake Tarpon is a HUGE lake. Not sure if it was ever searched.
 
This article says that she was at Ramada Inn with some coworkers from Kapok Tree and she was driving a Chevy Malibu not a Chevelle http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...VpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3FgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6438,2596130


She was from Tarpon, graduated from Tarpon High the article says. I 'm curious if there was anything wrong with her car when they found it at Days Inn. Possible scenario that she could have pulled over at Days Inn on the way home because A)car problem or B) she saw something or someone and wanted to check it out, and was attacked there.
 
She fits the same M.O. as at least two others from Florida in the 70's.
Petite, long blondish hair, last seen at a motel.

My theory is a serial killer who lured her.
 
She fits the same M.O. as at least two others from Florida in the 70's.
Petite, long blondish hair, last seen at a motel.

My theory is a serial killer who lured her.


The only way I could see it was a serial killer is if she a) met them at Ramada and they asked for a ride and she said she was going to Tarpon Springs or b)she picked them up hitch hiking on the way home and said she was going as far as Tarpon Springs. She lived in Tarpon Springs so she was on her way home and I can't see that she left of her own free will and her blood (if it is her blood) wound up in the drivers seat and her abductor forced her to drive the same way that she lived.

Plus, they didnt take her car so I don't see an abduction because they would have left her in the car and taken off, not gone to the trouble of hiding the body and then left on foot.
 
I found this website for the Kapok Tree Inn chain. http://benzplace.com/kapok/others.html

It looks like a seriously exotic place. The music store that's there now is Sam Ash, according to this website. It appears there's also still a company that puts on special events in the gardens.

Is this the right Ramada Inn? http://www.ramada.com/hotels/florid...iata=&rate_code&adults=1&checkin_date&rooms=1

Here's a map of what I believe to be the three locations.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...XYR-ymHAcOZZo3CiDHqAue8VJDFvQ&mra=ls&t=m&z=11

A=the restaurant where she worked
B=?the lounge where she went out with co-workers?
C=where the car was found
 
I found this website for the Kapok Tree Inn chain. http://benzplace.com/kapok/others.html

It looks like a seriously exotic place. The music store that's there now is Sam Ash, according to this website. It appears there's also still a company that puts on special events in the gardens.

Is this the right Ramada Inn? http://www.ramada.com/hotels/florid...iata=&rate_code&adults=1&checkin_date&rooms=1

Here's a map of what I believe to be the three locations.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...XYR-ymHAcOZZo3CiDHqAue8VJDFvQ&mra=ls&t=m&z=11

A=the restaurant where she worked
B=?the lounge where she went out with co-workers?
C=where the car was found

The Ramada Inn at that time was on US Hwy 19 about half way between Gulf to Bay and Drew Street on the East side of US 19. It's a different Hotel name now.
 
Kapok was beautiful! I think my high school even had their prom there in 85. My parents used to take us there and then it was the place to go on dates in the mid 80's.

The Days Inn in Tarpon is empty and for sale now. I'm trying to remember what restaurant was there in the front of the motel. Curious if it was a 24 hr restaurant. Someone had to have seen something. BTW, Waffle House is right next door which is 24 hours and directly behind Waffle House is a trailer park, a very very seedy trailer park.
 
The Ramada Inn at that time was on US Hwy 19 about half way between Gulf to Bay and Drew Street on the East side of US 19. It's a different Hotel name now.

Thanks, I didn't think that looked like the right one. I'll work up a better map tomorrow.

I'm not sure whether that's the right Days Inn, also. The Days Inn website lists that address, but Google doesn't show it there. I guess if it's empty and for sale that would explain google -- or did they relocate also? (So good to have a local resource.)
 
The L shaped plaza to the north was not there in 1978

The L shaped plaza to the south (brown roof) may have been there in 78 because I know there was a teen night club in the very corner of it in 1982 called the Cave.

In reference to Days Inn map
 
Yes, that's the same address I have :D So that would be the right spot, I guess. It's right across from Anderson Park, so that fits too.

Just looking at the views from the air, it looks like kind of a depressed area.


Oh it is. You are correct. Doubt she lived near there but it would have been the travel route to Tarpon in 1972. Belcher Rd ended at Curlew Rd going North and McMullen Booth was a 2 lane road and was back tracking for her I'm sure. Most people that live in Tarpon go US 19 to Tarpon Ave and either turn left or right at the light going to many neighborhoods.
 
Oh it is. You are correct. Doubt she lived near there but it would have been the travel route to Tarpon in 1972. Belcher Rd ended at Curlew Rd going North and McMullen Booth was a 2 lane road and was back tracking for her I'm sure. Most people that live in Tarpon go US 19 to Tarpon Ave and either turn left or right at the light going to many neighborhoods.

It sounds like the area where my in-laws lived, in Delray Beach, in the 80s. All the retirees came into the new condos and shopping centers, but if you went around the corners, you came upon pockets of rural poverty and some very poor areas at the edge of town. Roads that used to end in orange groves suddenly became four-lane through streets.

Were you old enough to remember when she went missing?
 
It sounds like the area where my in-laws lived, in Delray Beach, in the 80s. All the retirees came into the new condos and shopping centers, but if you went around the corners, you came upon pockets of rural poverty and some very poor areas at the edge of town. Roads that used to end in orange groves suddenly became four-lane through streets.

Were you old enough to remember when she went missing?

I was 12, Grew up in Dunedin but I went to Tarpon,Clearwater,Palm Harbor often with my parents. Know the area very well and very clear memory of 1978.

I also know the bars well, my mother was married to a prominent attorney and was an alcoholic. I think she started taking me to the bars at 10 to keep an eye on me and be able to go out drinking. Ramada Inn Clearwater was one of them. They didn't have as strict laws back then and didn't freak because I was in there.

BTW, I am the unofficial historian I guess of the era lol. Sort of your forest gump of Tampa Bay.Know alot of the history of North Pinellas. In 1980 I was at the bottle club that was made famous by the Donny Brasco movie, only a few miles from the Days Inn in mention.

Also, in 1977 I was living in Oldsmar near East Lake Woodlands with my mom temporarilly and this was the location that some one tried to abduct me when I was home playing sick from school. Always makes me wonder who the guy was successful grabbing.
 

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