An Ohio woman has a strong resemblance to Alexis Patterson. Could she be the missing girl?
The latest season of Unsolved, a true-crime podcast for USA TODAY and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, examines the disappearance of 7-year-old Alexis Patterson. Alexis went missing in Milwaukee in 2002. Fourteen years after she vanished, a man in Ohio came forward to suggest his ex-wife could be Alexis. The following excerpts from the Journal Sentinel archives, reported by Crocker Stephenson, were first published in 2016. Unsolved is available on all podcast platforms.
New hope in mystery of Alexis Patterson’s 2002 disappearance
Law enforcement officials are trying to determine if a woman living in Ohio is Alexis Patterson, the Milwaukee girl who vanished 14 years ago, a mystery that remains an open wound to those touched by her story.
Questions about the Ohio woman arose when the woman's ex-husband and his fiancée became increasingly curious about her murky past.
The woman, they say, has no memory of her childhood before the age of 10. She has no photographs or school mementos — indeed, no usual reminders of a normal childhood.
That was enough to spur the ex-husband and fiancée to search for clues on the internet. They came upon a computer-aged photograph of Alexis Patterson, and became convinced that Alexis is the woman they know.
The couple compiled a set of about a dozen photos and, in late June, sent it to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department. Within days, they also sent it to the Journal Sentinel, hoping for action.
The Journal Sentinel shared the photos with the Milwaukee Police Department's cold case unit, which has been in charge of Alexis' case since 2009.
Alexis' mother, Ayanna Patterson, has never wavered in her belief that her daughter is alive. But she has had her hopes built up by purported breaks in her daughter's case, only to have them crash when the breaks didn't pan out. She has been besieged by hustlers claiming to know her daughter or even to be her daughter.
When the Journal Sentinel showed her the photos, Patterson's initial skepticism gave way to cautious optimism.
"That could be my baby," she said when she first examined the photographs. "I've never said this before, but that could be my child."
Her optimism deepened when the Journal Sentinel traveled to Ohio and interviewed the couple.
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.
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."
"I know you are hurting right now," Patterson said. "And I am sorry."
More: Who are missing children in Wisconsin? It's a long list that spans decades.
In a statement, Milwaukee police officials said they "received a call from the Wisconsin Regional Crime Lab regarding the results of DNA testing derived from a tip from an Ohio man relative to the 2002 disappearance of Alexis Patterson.
"The sample collected by law enforcement authorities in Ohio of a female there does NOT match that of Patterson's."
...While the Ohio woman shared several characteristics peculiar to Alexis, there were several reasons Milwaukee police doubted they were one in the same.
The woman says she is 28 — seven years older than Alexis would be — and she has two children. For her to be Alexis, she would have given birth at an unusually young age.
Ayanna Patterson said she was not satisfied with the DNA results. The 14-year-old samples may be corrupted or have deteriorated over the years.
"I don't believe that DNA test," she said.
Unsolved podcast revisits DNA test
Alexis' mother has never been satisfied with the DNA results and has continued to believe the Ohio woman is her daughter.
“I know that’s my child,” Patterson told USA TODAY last year. “I’m not afraid of nothing now that I know my baby’s safe, and I know my baby’s alive.”
Patterson believed it was possible someone tampered with the woman's DNA sample, which was collected by a police officer in Ohio and sent to Milwaukee police via FedEx.
In this season of Unsolved, reporters investigated Patterson's claims and traveled to Ohio to track down answers.
Learn more about the Alexis Patterson case by listening to the true-crime podcast Unsolved.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ohio woman has a strong resemblance to Alexis Patterson, DNA tested
