WI WI - Alexis Patterson, 7, Milwaukee, 3 May 2002

[PommyMommy]

DEC 30, 2022

America’s missing persons: Their status and how you can help

Over the past year, NewsNation has highlighted missing persons cases from across the country, and the families searching for answers.

www.newsnationnow.com

Alexis Patterson

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Went Missing: May 3, 2002
• Status: Pending

Alexis Patterson was 7 when she walked to school with her stepfather 20 years ago. She never made it home, but her mother has not given up looking for her. Patterson’s stepfather says he watched her walk up to the school’s playground before returning home. However, the girl’s teachers say she never made it inside.

In 2016, Ayanna Patterson, Alexis’ mom, got a tip from a journalist that a young woman living in the Midwest was Alexis. Ayanna Patterson said when she collected the woman’s DNA, it was a match. Ayanna Patterson said the Milwaukee Police Department never did their own DNA testing, and that they haven’t been doing enough for her daughter. The Milwaukee Police Department, on the other hand, said they did test it, and the young woman’s DNA did not match Alexis. The Milwaukee Police Department sent a statement to NewsNation in May saying detectives have thoroughly investigated each lead in Alexis Patterson’s case. “She was an amazing little girl. She was my sun, my shining star,” Ayanna Patterson said.

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Alexis Patterson should call the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office at 414-278-4921.

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A first grader vanishes in less than 242 steps – somewhere on the short walk between her home and school.

More than 20 years later, she has yet to be found.

In Season 4 of USA TODAY’s true-crime podcast, Unsolved, investigative reporter Gina Barton brings you along on her four-year journey to figure out what really happened to Alexis Patterson. Was she kidnapped? Murdered?

Was there a cover-up after some sort of accident? Is it possible she’s alive and well and living under a different name?

Alexis Patterson was 7 when she disappeared from Milwaukee on May 3, 2002. Her stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, said he walked her halfway to school and handed her off to the crossing guard. She never made it to school.How does Alexis Patterson’s case compare with Elizabeth Smart’s?

Alexis Patterson disappeared a month before Elizabeth Smart did.

Within hours, Elizabeth’s disappearance was featured on CNN’s “Larry King Live” and Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.” It took eight days for Alexis’ story to attract attention outside Milwaukee, on a segment on “America’s Most Wanted.” The next national story on her case aired weeks later.

By the time Elizabeth had been gone two weeks, USA TODAY had published three stories about her disappearance. There were none focused on Alexis.

USA TODAY's true-crime podcast, Unsolved, investigates the cold case of Alexis Patterson

Season 4 of USA TODAY's true crime podcast, Unsolved, covers the cold case of missing child Alexis Patterson, who disappeared from Milwaukee in 2002.

www.usatoday.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The woman, they said, has two features often mentioned in descriptions of Alexis by such organizations as the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: a linear scar beneath her right eye and an unusual bump on her left pinkie finger.

They also mentioned a third characteristic, one that has not been released to the general public. When the Journal Sentinel contacted Ayanna Patterson, she confirmed that Alexis had that characteristic. And then she wept.

In Ohio, the woman has steadfastly denied that she is Alexis.

"I am not that girl. That is a ridiculous question," she said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.

Read the full archival story.

Ohio woman is not Alexis Patterson, DNA test reveals​

The results of genetic testing released Thursday exclude the possibility that an Ohio woman is Alexis Patterson, the Milwaukee girl who vanished on her way to school 14 years ago.

Alexis' mother, Ayanna Patterson, reacted with grief, rage, disbelief — as well as sadness for the Ohio woman who, her daughter or not, has endured intense scrutiny by the media and by people living in her small town.

"No matter what the test says, I still believe one billion percent you are my child," Patterson told the Journal Sentinel, as if speaking to the Ohio woman.

Patterson herself has been exposed to similar scrutiny, which she has found painful, and has avoided returning to her home. She met with the Journal Sentinel at a park on the city's far north side.

"I want you to continue to go on with your life and be as happy as you can be," Patterson said of the Ohio woman. "And be the best mother you can possibly be. And raise your children. And don't let no one hurt your kids. Don't let your children out of your sight."

An Ohio woman has a strong resemblance to Alexis Patterson. Could she be the missing girl?

Check out stories from the Journal Sentinel archives about how Alexis Patterson's mother came to believe a woman in Ohio was her missing daughter.

www.jsonline.com

 

[Richard]

Alexis S. Patterson, age 7, Missing since 3 May 2002

LINKS:

Alexis S. Patterson – The Charley Project

Unsolved: Can DNA help solve the case of a Milwaukee girl missing since 2002?

One of the main questions explored in this season of the Unsolved podcast is whether a woman in Ohio is Alexis. Could genetic testing hold the answer?

www.aol.com

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Alexis S. Patterson – The Charley Project

 

[imstilla.grandma]

For more than 20 years, the Milwaukee Police Department kept its records secret because the case remains unsolved. With the help of a Wisconsin attorney, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY got them to hand over more than 4,000 pages of documents.

Buried in them are surprising new details about the day Alexis disappeared and clues to what might have happened in a case that continues to haunt the city.

The records also illustrate the power of rumors and the tricks of time and memory. Sometimes people lie to the police and reporters. More often, they want to be helpful, so they share what they know — or what they think they know.

For instance, Alexis’ mother and others have shared accounts of a red truck being seen near Alexis’ school around the time of her disappearance.

But there is not a single mention of a red truck in the files.

Alexis’ mom and other parents distinctly remember that two weeks before Alexis vanished, they received a letter from the school principal, warning them that someone had tried to abduct a child.

There’s a copy of the letter in the police file, but it was sent out a year and a half before Alexis went missing, not two weeks.

A neighbor remembered a group of armed men threatening to get Alexis’ stepfather “where it hurts” for stealing drugs; police reported that her mother told them she had “popped” Alexis that morning; several people provided similar accounts of a kidnapping plot.

The case file shows investigators divided into two camps: those who believed Alexis’ mother and stepfather were responsible for her disappearance and those who thought she had been kidnapped by the drug dealer her stepfather ripped off.

Her stepfather, who died in 2021, and her mother always denied involvement in her disappearance. And while police believe Alexis is likely dead, her mother is convinced she is still alive.

Intuition is an important element of police work but allegiance to one theory over another can lead to tunnel vision. It can cause investigators to downplay contradictory evidence, to miss the full picture.

Which theory do you believe? Inside the police files of a missing child’s cold case

Milwaukee police released more than 4,000 pages of records about the search for Alexis Patterson, who vanished in 2002. Two theories emerged.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

Alexis S. Patterson​

Updated: Jan 12, 2022

Alexis Patterson went missing at the age of 7 on May 3rd, 2002. Alexis and her family lived on the 2200 block of N. 49th St, in Milwaukee WI. Her stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, walked Alexis to Hi Mount School, which was about half a block away from their home, and was located on West Garfield Ave in Milwaukee WI. He watched her cross the street and walk towards the school playground before turning to leave.

When she hadn't returned home from school at 3 pm, her parents and her family become worried and learned from the school that she had not attended any of her classes that day.

It is reported that Alexis was seen crying on the playground. Her parents thought that it was possible that Alexis might have been upset with them because they wouldn't let her bring cupcakes to school for a snack. Her parents insist that Alexis would never run away or leave willingly with a stranger.

Two weeks prior to her disappearance, parents at the school received a letter warning them about a man who was trying to abduct a boy.

One week before her disappearance, teachers had seen Alexis talking with a "random lady" outside of the school. Her mother spoke with her about not talking with strangers. Two days later, the same woman was seen outside the school trying to talk with Alexis again. Students later reported to police there was a red truck parked outside of the school for about a week, that it sat in the parking lot and that it did not pick up or drop off any student. The red truck was no longer seen once Alexis was reported as missing.

In the weeks following Alexis's disappearance, police had set up a command center in Washington Park searching for her by boat, motorcycle, horse, and even doing underwater searches. The Milwaukee Sheriff's Office even used their helicopter in the search for Alexis. the massive search involved 41 police officers, 7 police supervisors, several sheriff's deputies and even called upon the the Milwaukee residents to help in whatever way they could.

Several tips were reported at the time of Alexis's disappearance:

-late model, red GMC sport utility vehicle with tinted windows parked outside of the school that week

-dark blue SUV speeding away from area around the time she went missing

-seen near empty warehouses by 32nd & Hampton and also 32nd & Atkinson

All tips were looked into at the time but police were not able to find anything in the warehouses and were not able to find the cars as they did not have any other information to identify them.

Alexis was last seen wearing a red hooded jacket with gray stripes, a purple shirt, blue jeans, and white Nike tennis shoes. She has a scar under her right eye and bump on her left pinky finger. She was 3'8" 42 lbs and has black hair, brown eyes.

Through the years, numerous tips have come in. One coming from Ohio in 2016, where a woman's ex-husband contacted police after realizing how similar his ex-wife looked to Alexis Patterson. His ex-wife had no memories prior to age 10. Law enforcement issued a DNA test, which excluded the woman as a match.

Alexis's mother, Ayanna Patterson, is filled with hope that her daughter will come home to her, vowing to keep searching for answers.

“Even with her being gone that long, it hurts like hell,” Patterson said. “But I’ve turned my pain into power.”

The City continues to remember Alexis giving Alexis's Mother A Commemoration for each year she has been missing. Each year, public officials walk the route Alexis walked, and lay a wreath in honor of Alexis. In 2012, May 3rd was declared as "Alexis Patterson: Forget Me Not Day" by Mayor Tom Barrett.

Age progression of Alexis Patterson
This is what she'd look like at 24 years old.

Alexis S. Patterson

Alexis Patterson went missing at the age of 7 on May 3rd, 2002. Alexis and her family lived on the 2200 block of N. 49th St, in Milwaukee WI. Her stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, walked Alexis to Hi Mount School, which was about half a block away from their home, and was located on West Garfield...

www.wimissing.org

 

[imstilla.grandma]

For more than 20 years, the Milwaukee Police Department kept its records secret because the case remains unsolved. With the help of a Wisconsin attorney, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY got them to hand over more than 4,000 pages of documents.

Buried in them are surprising new details about the day Alexis disappeared and clues as to what might have happened in a case that continues to haunt the city.

The records also illustrate the power of rumors and the tricks of time and memory. Sometimes people lie to the police and reporters. More often, they want to be helpful, so they share what they know — or what they think they know.

As a result, spotty memories come to be understood as facts.

For instance, Alexis’ mother and others have shared accounts of a red truck being seen near Alexis’ school around the time of her disappearance.

But there is not a single mention of a red truck in the files.

Alexis’ mom and other parents distinctly remember that two weeks before Alexis vanished, they received a letter from the school principal, warning them that someone had tried to abduct a child.

There’s a copy of the letter in the police file, but it was sent out a year and a half before Alexis went missing, not two weeks.

The records also contain revelations of violence.

Which theory do you believe? Inside the police files of a missing child’s cold case

Milwaukee police released more than 4,000 pages of records about the search for Alexis Patterson, who vanished in 2002. Two theories emerged.

www.usatoday.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Alexis Patterson’s walk home from Hi-Mount Elementary School in Milwaukee was just 242 steps.

Alexis, 7 years old and in first grade, always got home from school around 2:50 p.m. When she hadn’t arrived by 2:55 on a Friday in May 2002, her mother, Ayanna Patterson, began to worry. At 3, Patterson ran to the school in a panic.

“That’s when I found out that my baby never made it,” Patterson told USA TODAY. “She never made it to school.”

The story of Alexis’ disappearance started with a massive search for the little girl and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday. 

In Season 4 of Unsolved, we work to get to the bottom of what really happened to Alexis, what efforts were made to find herand why so many missing Black kids in America are never found

Unsolved 4: A missing girl, a search for truth

What efforts were made to find Alexis Patterson, 7, who disappeared on the way to school? Why are so many missing Black kids in America never found?

www.jsonline.com