I poured out my heart to this man, and thats what he says? she said. Local law officials, along with cousins of Alexis Patterson who was abducted while enroute to Hi Mount School 11 years ago was remembered on Friday, May 3, 2013. In 2002, Wisconsin had not yet adopted Amber Alerts. Alexis Patterson, 7, of Milwaukee, was last seen alive on May 3, 2002. Credit Solution Experts Incorporated offers quality business credit building services, which includes an easy step-by-step system designed for helping clients build their business credit effortlessly. It also shares that Ayanna and Joshua know that his ex-wife is really Alexis, but both have been instructed to keep quiet. Although the results aregenerally not admissible in court in either state, some members of law enforcement then and now consider polygraphsuseful tools in solving crimes. VIDEO: At an event marking the 20th year of Alexis Patterson's disappearance, Ayanna Patterson shares her conviction that her daughter will come home. Within a day, the Milwaukee Police Department set up a mobile command post, a trailer packed with communications equipment, at a park near Alexis home, according to news coverage at the time. I feel like its because of me being African American, Patterson said. He angrily denied the reports. She too was certain Joshuas ex-wife was the missing girl after seeing the pairs wedding photo. My own thought is that police contribute to the problem by setting the news agenda through what cases they share with media, she said in an email. Joshuas ex-wife has said she felt agitated and angry over the attention she received as a result of the DNA tests, as some who had read about the case online had gathered outside her home, but also shares that she feels sorry for the family. Alexis was not in class on the day she went missing, but was reportedly seen by classmates on the playground that morning. We're going to keep fighting until the end,"Quinones said. In 2002, seven-year-old Alexis Patterson didnt come home from school. Alexis was born in 1995. Patterson believes having strangers collect the sample and ship it left open the possibility that someone could have tampered with it. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. LEFT: Student volunteers from El Puente High School in Milwaukee gather to hand out flyers and help in the 2002 search for Alexis Patterson. He said he wanted to get Lisa and her kids into safety, away from that man. What man? Associated Addresses. She always had a beautiful smile for everyone, said former Head Start teacher Benedicta Graves. "No matter if you have to go out of the state or out of the country, I will go with her to help her find her child," Quinones said. When she hadnt arrived by 2:55 on that Friday in May 2002, her mother, Ayanna Patterson, began to worry. If you have any information regarding the case, you can contact the Milwaukee Police Department at either 414-935-7401, 414-935-7302 or 414-935-7360. Bourgeois, who denied having anything to do with Alexis' disappearance, died of a probable drug overdose in 2021. This Residential listing has 3 Beds, 2 Full Baths. Joshua spent a total of four years working to expose the case, sharing he too doesnt trust the DNA results and wishes to get his ex-wife away from an unnamed man. Thats when I found out that my baby never made it, Patterson told USA TODAY. Everybody always wanted to sit next to her.. Alexis is Black and still missing. There was also a photo circulating of Ayanna and Lisas two children together in Milwaukee. I clearly do remember Alexiss story being out there. She couldnt sleep. Just two months later, he was charged with repeatedly driving with a revoked license and was imprisoned. Police records say otherwise. Police divers searched the river, but nothing was found. Its a win-win for you. In 2002, Wisconsin had not yet adopted Amber Alerts. Becky Patterson . Advertisement. Their studies have repeatedly found that cases of missing Black people, children and adults alike, are covered less often than whites and their stories dont travel as widely through the nations newsrooms. Alexis' mother . Summary information is updated to reflect amendments since the report was initially filed. Around this time, a relationship was re-established with the Patterson family. MILWAUKEE Tuesday marks 20 years since 7-year-old Alexis Patterson disappeared in 2002. The Disappearance of Alexis Patterson: A Routine Walk to School with Her Stepdad, Just to Never be Heard From Again | Case 3 | by Jadyn Harlow - The Missing Found Podcast | Medium 500. On the morning of May 3, 2002, Alexis Pattersons stepfather walked her to the corner and a crossing guard guided the 7-year-old across the street toward Hi-Mount Community School in Milwaukee. This story was eventually changed to say that Kenya had woken her up to report the fall. Alexis Patterson was born on April 4, 1995 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lisa Gross was found dead in her bathtub in 2001. Anyone with information about Alexis Patterson is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360. Three days later, Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones told reporters he believed Alexis had run away. Despite investigators belief that Alexis was so angryshe skipped school, Milwaukee police acted with extreme urgency, said Chief Jeffrey Norman, who was a detective back then. Patterson checked with her grandmother, who lived nearby, but she hadnt seen the girl either. Her mother, Ayanna Patterson, hosted a private memorial on Sunday, May 1, which she called an "awakening.". That same year, police subpoenaed four Milwaukee television stations, seeking tapes of past news coverage about the case. MILWAUKEE It's been 20 years since Alexis Patterson, who was 7-years-old at the time, went missing on her way to school. I'm not giving up ever," Patterson said. The agent told Patterson she had failed her first polygraph and implied they wouldnt help unless she took another one, according to a recording Patterson made of that phone call. 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. Every year since 2012, longtime Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has recognized May 3 as Alexis Patterson Forget Me Not Day. Before he left office to become the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg late last year, Barrett signed the proclamation for 2022. He had then left for work, leaving his mother to care for the infant. The man that kidnapped her? Patterson said as much when she spoke with a new Milwaukee cold case detective recently only the second or third conversation she hashad with him since he took over the case more than a year ago. As a result, she was told she wouldnt be allowed to bring in cupcakes for her classmates, which upset her, as May 3 was her day to bring in a snack for her class. 64 Shamrock Cir, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926 5871 N Castlegate Dr, Atlanta, GA 30349 405 Fairfield Cir, Fayetteville, GA 30214. The distance from Hi-Mount Elementary to the Pattersons front door was just 242 steps. They probably did my background. Examining the world of solved and unsolved cases. Her ears are pierced. In July 2016, Milwaukee Police received information from a man named Joshua Miller of Bryan, OH who believed his ex wife, Lisa Miller, was indeed Alexis Patterson. The theory is that Lisa Miller is Alexis Patterson and Ayanna and Joshua are aware of it, but for whatever reason they may have been instructed to keep quiet. Associated Phone Numbers. As a result, information about Elizabeths abduction was disseminated widely within hours. She is too much like me, says Ayanna. However, given she hadnt yet returned home, they felt that something else may have caused her to disappear after she was seen on the playground. By then, 14 years had passed. The agent told Patterson she hadfailed her first polygraph and implied they wouldnt help unless shetook another one, according to a recording Patterson made of that phone call. I don't depend on the police. At the end of the day, she didnt come home. (as of December 31, 2017)The Second National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children (NISMART-2), released by the Department of Justice in 2002 and spanning the years 1997 to 1999, reported that of the 797,500 children reported missing in a one-year period, 203,900 were abducted by family members and 58,200 were abducted by non-relatives. Norman, the police chief, acknowledged that probably wasnt the best way to gain Pattersons trust. If you're a Pinterest-perfect mom who has been planning her children's Halloween costumes for weeks if not months, we seriously applaud you. She cant understand why Milwaukee police didnt travel to Ohio to collect Lisas DNA. From there, scientists at Wisconsins state crime lab sequenced it and compared it to Alexis DNA profile. Patterson believes having strangers collect the sample and ship it left open the possibility that someone could have tampered with it. Polygraphs.. MILWAUKEE The DNA test came back and Milwaukee police say an Ohio woman is not the missing Alexis Patterson. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Months later, they would state they believed foul play to have been involved. As Alexis had no history of running away, Ayanna and LaRon initially believed she had refused to attend her classes because of the argument she and her mother had had the previous night. Alexis Patterson was last seen walking to Hi-Mount elementary school the morning of May 3, 2002. According to Joshua, there were aspects of his ex-wifes past that didnt add up, as she had no memory of her childhood prior to her being 10 years old. In 2004, Kenya was convicted of drug charges. There are currently no suspects, but its said that investigators have not ruled anyone out. To have been abducted, someone had to be . Over the past eightmonths, the case of Gabby Petito, who disappeared on a road trip with her fiance and was later found dead, has once again brought the issue to the forefront of the public consciousness. In the days and weeks that followed, hundreds of tips rolled in. At the time Joshuas theory came to light, the pair were in the midst of a custody battle over their son. To my understanding, there has not been any conclusive evidence clearing anyonein this particular situation, Norman said. She had entered the living room after hearing crying, where shed found the infant bleeding from her mouth and with her left eye deviated, as if she were having a seizure. Theres no court case that youd be wrapped up in.. However, very little has been elaborated about in regards to this. Friends and relatives stayed around the clock to help Patterson care for her infant daughter, born six months before Alexis vanished. Milwaukee police told Patterson it didnt match but she doesnt believe them. And I aint giving up.. Seven-year-old Alexis Patterson went missing in May of 2002. We compiled some ideas that you can DIY for not much money and with pieces you may already have . She always had a beautiful smile for everyone, said former Head Start teacher Benedicta Graves. Saturday, July 9, 2016 --- Fourteen years ago, seven-year-old Alexis Patterson was dropped off at a Milwaukee elementary school and never seen again. In Milwaukee, the first story about Alexis was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday, two days after she disappeared. Upon him leaving for work the next morning, she had been asleep on the couch. Alexis case has been featured on In Pursuit With John Walsh, The View, Find Our Missing, Maury Povich, Crime Watch Daily, Ricki Lake and Americas Most Wanted. Investigators also ruled him out as a being involved. In the morning, Patterson realized Alexis hadnt finished her homework, so she wouldnt let her bring the treats. Kenya plead not guilty to all four charges against him. Four years later, in June 2009, he was also convicted of the manufacture and delivery of cocaine in Portage County, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. There were none focused onAlexis. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to TheAfroLounge.com, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Judgement on behalf of the city was vacated nearly 10 years later, in August 2011. Police traveledto Chicago, Louisiana, Texas and Atlanta in hopes that one of them would pan out, but nonedid. The reward was funded by drug forfeiture money. Their home is also filled in reminders of the missing girl, including photos, her homework assignments and a watercolour self-portrait. Through these tests, it was determined she had suffered abusive head trauma, a broken jaw, a fractured rib, a lacerated liver and an adrenal haemorrhage, and bruises to her face, abdomen and chest. He also told police he had returned home with his daughter around 3:00pm on November 21, 2013, with no signs of injury, after which he was her sole caretaker until 5:00pm. Being an investigator and being objective, you look at all angles.. LEFT: Ayanna Patterson reacts to a 2016 statement from police that an Ohio womans DNA does not match that of Alexis. There was a frenzied approach of, Theres someone missing in our community, a young one, and were going to put in all the effort, the work, hold no stops, he said in an interview last week. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Disappearance of Nguyet Thu Wiki Phung, Case Update: Brittanee Drexels Remains Discovered After 13 Years, Suspect Charged, The Disappearances of Tina & Bethany Sinclair. Sunday's special gathering on Milwaukee's north side featured stories, songs, poems and photos, all in honor of Alexis. As of 2009, the case has been assigned to the Milwaukee Police Departments cold case unit. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progression photos of Alexis in 2009, which showed what she could have looked like at 14 years old. For his testimony, he had been granted immunity in relation to this. "This is one of those cases, when you think Milwaukee, unfortunately, things like Jeffrey Dahmer and Alexis Patterson are names that come up," says . The area around Hi-Mount Boulevard School, as well as vacant residences, were also searched. Alexis was not in class on the day she went missing, but was reportedly seen by classmates on the playground that morning. Because if you pass it, then you can tell anybody you want, Look, I passed this polygraph. If you dont, you dont have to tell anybody. Some investigators have continued to focus on Alexis family because they didnt trust her stepfather, who had driven the getaway car after a 1994 bank robbery in which a suburban police officer was killed, according to retired Milwaukee Police Detective Steve Spingola, who was in charge of Alexis'case in the beginning. RIGHT: A Milwaukee Police officer climbs out of a boarded up home on the 2100 block N. 33rd St. in Milwaukee during the search for Alexis. Everything changed when a reporter knocked on her door in 2016. Joshua told reporters that there were things about Lisas past that did not add up. On May 6, 2002, he was released from prison and questioned by police, who say he has been fully cooperative with the investigation. If alive, she would be 24 years old. In Milwaukee, the FBI didnt join Alexis case until three days after she vanished. Receive small business resources and advice about entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs. This raised doubts in the theory, which were only further raised upon learning that the ex-wife was seven years older than Alexis would have been at the time and had already had two children. Patterson said she wouldnt take a second test unless the FBI showed her the report of her first one, and they refused. ? Glen Mills Schools: Hub for Mind Control/ Social Experimentation on Teens and Young Adults?