Joyce Darlene Patterson, Missing since 1996 Phoenix, Arizona [DECEASED]

[Breezy]

I am starting this thread for a young lady who has been searching for her mother endlessly for many years.

There are no newspaper articles or missing persons reports for me to link here because there naver has been any....not one!

As of this year, November 15, 2008, she was pronounced as missing and a
case was opened by Detective Eric Cosgriff with the Phoenix PD.

Here is a link to a site where she has been posting information/pictures about her mother.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Mother-Joyce-Darlene-Patterson-is-Missing


**I still have not figured out how to add pictures so if anyone can add them for me that would be great!**

[Breezy]

http://hubpages.com/hub/Mother-Joyce-Darlene-Patterson-Declared-Missing-After-12-Years

Mother Joyce Darlene Patterson Declared Missing After 12 Years

Persistence Pays Off
I have been searching for my mother, Joyce Darlene Patterson, since 1996 when she disappeared from Ohio. I got wind in 1999 that she was in Phoenix Arizona. I have been trying with repeated letters to the Phoenix Police Department to get them to help me locate my mother. They have denied me 5 different times stating that she is an adult and unless I could prove suspicious circumstances, there was nothing they could do.

This year, I met a man named Jeff Knapp, he is a photographer who does homeless type ministry. He takes photos of the homeless and tells their story. My mother was supposedly reported homeless, so I contacted him. He took on the responsibility of assisting me in my search. He printed flyers and letters to post and mail. He sent these letters to the Police Chief, Missing Persons, Senator John McCain, the White House and many more.

Finally, his persistence paid off. I got an e-mail that the Missing Persons department has taken on my mother as a Missing Person. She will be listed in the National Database. 12 long years of suffering, emptiness, helplessness and now just a little bit of hope!

To any of those who have missing loved ones and are having a hard time with the authorities, DON'T GIVE UP! Persistence pays off... Do what you know in your heart is the right thing.

Thank you so much for reading my story and listening! God Bless!

**Pictures at this link also**

[Breezy]

I will email Miranda the link to this thread. I'm sure she will join us and be able to answer any questions and offer more information.

[Breezy]

http://phoenix.gov/police/missing_joyce_patterson.pdf

[misswriter415]

Hello to Everyone!
I am thanking the God every day for sending Breezy my way. It has been the longest search for my mom with no results. Breezy has sent me the flyer for my mother's missing person's post by the Phoenix PD, I have never seen it until now. Detective Cosgriff never showed it to me or even told me that one was created. He has not communicated much with me, other than to say, he would let me know when there is a change in the case and until then... there is nothing he can say. But I would like to know what they are doing to try and locate her. I would like to know where they are going and who they are asking... whether or not they have gotten any leads or hits.
We have had a lot of grieve in our family over the last ten years and I would really like to find my mother to let her know. I have three beautiful children that she has never met. My sister has a beautiful son that she has never met.
She is possibly mentally unstable and that is what I fear. She could be a danger to herself (not anyone else). There is no reason for her to be wandering the streets homeless. I am an adult, have more than enough room in the home that I have bought and could get her the help she needs right here at home. But first, I have to find her...
I am glad that I have hooked up with Breezy and with this site. I hope that it will provide me with some comfort and hope! Thanks everyone!

[Grande]

http://i33.tinypic.com/juwoxs.jpg

[Grande]

http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CivilCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CV2004-040166

[Grande]

http://i34.tinypic.com/14lr0oy.jpg

[Grande]

A reverse lookup of the address on that 04' filing shows 'CR Air Systems' is located at 1205 N 3rd St Phoenix, AZ Phone: 602-253-8684

[Breezy]

http://zerogossip.com/2008/12/12/live-in-the-phoenix-area-help-reunite-a-daughter-with-her-mom.aspx

If you live in the Phoenix area, feel free to print this and hand out to anyone you think can help.

Not a day goes by that 25 year old Miranda Rhuda doesn't think about her mother. She hasn't seen her since 1996 when she was just 13. Joyce Patterson is 52 now and believed to be homeless in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miranda last saw her mother July 18, 1996. Joyce and her husband were divorced and Joyce would see Miranda and her sister about every other weekend.


Alcohol tore into the family and overtook Joyce. Her alcoholism shattered the family and she went to live with her brother in Marion, Ohio after the divorce. Despite her demons, Miranda said she was a good mom. Unfortunately, her last memory of her mother isn't a good one.

"She came to visit for her birthday. We went out to eat and she was intoxicated. She made a scene and had a falling out with my older sister. I told her that she really needed to quit drinking and get it together." Remember, Miranda was just 13 at the time.

Joyce left on good terms and returned to her brother's home telling Miranda she would call her when she arrived. She never called. Her brother told Miranda that Joyce did come home, packed her things and moved out without saying where she was going. "Due to her alcoholism, she burnt out the family so when she said she was leaving on the spur of the moment, no one thought much of it," Miranda said. "But while everyone in the family wasn't surprised with her behavior, my mom and I were very close and there was no reason for her to up and take off."

It was several years before anyone heard from Joyce. "About 6 years ago, I told my aunt, my mother's sister that I was trying to find her. She told me that my mother called her in 1997 whispering on the phone saying she had gone to Arizona with the hopes of getting sober. Some people had offered her help but that now she was being held against her will by a cult." Her aunt couldn't tell if she was under the influence or if she was in an unstable state of mind. Miranda's father told her Joyce had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder so that, coupled with her drinking past made the family question anything she said.

"In 1999 someone told me that if I wrote a letter through the Social Security Administration, they would forward it to her if they had any records of her," Miranda said. It worked. "She called me in April that year. She told me that it was true she had been held by a cult and she was now sober. She said she was helping an older man in assisted living. She sounded really upbeat. We corresponded for about 2 weeks. In May, I called her on Mothers Day at the man's house and he said she asked him to drop her off at a shelter and he hadn't heard from her since."

There was no more communication for 5 years. Miranda tried the Social Security route again and sent another letter. Joyce made a collect call but Miranda wasn't home. She left a message saying she would call back. She didn't. Miranda had the phone company trace the call and it came from a pay phone at the Westward Ho building in Phoenix. The building houses senior citizens. That message was the last time Miranda heard from her mother. The same can't be said about the Phoenix Police. Joyce was arrested in 2007 on a petty theft charge but never appeared for court. Her address at the time was listed as transient. She hasn't been heard from by anyone since.

"The Phoenix Police wouldn't do anything to help me locate her. They told me that she's an adult and if I had heard from her periodically, they wouldn't consider her missing. I was at a loss." In November, the police officially listed Joyce as a missing person.


Joyce's daughter Miranda

Miranda took to the internet posting on Phoenix forums, missing person sites, just about any place she could think of.

To Anyone Who Reads This:

My name is Miranda Rhuda. I am 25 years old and I am from Ohio.
In 1996, my mother Joyce Darlene Patterson, age 53, went missing from Ohio.
Since that time, I have continually searched for her with no assistance and no outcome. Recently, I found public records with her name and date of birth listed online. She is in Phoenix (somewhere). The last address given to the police in September 2007, was 813 W. Madison Street. This address is an industrial building which is boarded up. I know this because a man named Jeff Knapp, who is doing homeless ministries, has assisted me in checking it out.

I believe that she may be homeless. She may be a drifter. In the past, she has been an alcoholic and has had very serious mental issues. I really need to find her for family reasons and mostly so that I can get her off the streets and get her treatment. There is no reason for her to be homeless and/or stealing to provide for herself. She is 5 ft. tall, 117 lbs, brown hair, brown eyes. Her Date of Birth is 07/18/1956.

I am enclosing pictures of her. I would appreciate any help that you may be able to give me. If you could please post this somewhere or forward it on to someone who may be able to help me, I would greatly appreciate it.

If you or anyone else, has any information, please send me an email at misswriter415@aol.com or call me at 567-219-0095. I can also be reached by mail at the following: Miranda N. Rhuda, 415 Dewey Street, Sandusky, Ohio, 44870.

Thank you and God Bless,
Miranda Rhuda

While all of this paints a tragic story. There is still time to fix it. That's the message Miranda hopes her mother somehow gets. Joyce, if you are reading this, your daughter has been looking for you for 12 years. No matter how bad you think things were, she wants nothing more than to help you. At the very least she wants to know you're ok. She has three kids who ask her where her mommy is. As much as she would love to jump on a plane and come to Arizona to look for you, she can't. Remember the times you spent with Miranda doing crafts, teaching her to bake? Remember walking to the dollar store to buy her a coloring book? Miranda does. It may seem impossible to repair the damage done or to get back the lost years. Nothing is impossible. You have family who not only want to help you, they need to help you. You just have to take that leap of faith. Miranda has a lot of pictures of you and her when she was young. The last photo she has of you is a mug shot. It's time to come home.

[packy]

Hello and welcome, Misswriter. It's good to know you are getting help with flyers and getting the word out about your mom. Keeping positive thoughts and prayers for a lead to where she can be found. And thank you, Breezy, for all your help.

[misswriter415]

A reverse lookup of the address on that 04' filing shows 'CR Air Systems' is located at 1205 N 3rd St Phoenix, AZ Phone: 602-253-8684

Grande,
Thank you for that. Breezy sent me that info and I saw that it said returned mail, but I didn't know how to go about getting the address on her court mail. I thought that would be the best bet.

I think I will try sending a letter and a flyer to that address, regardless of who's it is. Maybe I will try and have someone post flyers in that area.

I appreciate your kindness and your help!

[misswriter415]

Hello and welcome, Misswriter. It's good to know you are getting help with flyers and getting the word out about your mom. Keeping positive thoughts and prayers for a lead to where she can be found. And thank you, Breezy, for all your help.

Thank you for your kind words. I am getting help now. It is unfortunate that it has taken this long... if I could have known how to do this years ago and some people could have helped me, maybe she would be home by now.

Again, thanks everyone for all of your kindness... it is a true blessing.

[misswriter415]

Thank you breezy for referring me to Norm. He did a beautiful job. Made me cry a couple of tears... that happens occassionally! I appreciate this so much!

[nanabillie]

I just read the story of Joyce Patterson. My heart hurts for Misswriter. Please let me know if I can do anything. Have the Politicians in Arizona been notified about this? Just in case Misswriter doesn't check back here soon, I will email her and ask. I can at least write a letter to Senators and Congressmen. Nothing fancy, but I can type. God bless this child wanting to find and hold her Mother. I know how much I long to feel my Mother's arms hugging me again.

[Breezy]

http://hubpages.com/hub/12-Year-Cross-Country-Search-for-Missing-Mother-Lands-in-Phoenix--Arizona

12-Year Cross Country Search for Missing Mother Lands in Phoenix, Arizona

Joyce Darlene Patterson, age 52, has been missing from Ohio since 1996. She boarded a bus with a couple of individuals who offered to assist her in getting back on her feet and she vanished. She has not been seen by her family again.

In 1997, she made a phone call to her sister in Norwalk, Ohio, in a whispering tone and claimed that she was being held against her will by religious cult members. The phone call was brief and she gave no information other than she was in Arizona.

This small amount of information gave her daughter Miranda, age 14, enough information to try and start searching for her mother. Being a minor there was little that Miranda could do to try and bring her mother home. Due to her mother’s alcoholic past, there were no adults in the family to back Miranda in her search for her mother.

It has been 12 years that Miranda has been searching for her. She has written multiple letters to the Phoenix Police Department reporting her mother as missing from Ohio. Phoenix PD failed to assist her claiming that they had contact with Joyce and she was in deed not missing. Miranda requested that Phoenix Police Department provide her with the address or phone number to contact her mother, but they refused explaining that Arizona laws states that they can not disclose that information unless the adult in question chooses to do so in their own. But how would Joyce know that her daughter is searching for her if she can not get the word out?

After many failed attempts with Phoenix authorities, Miranda took to the internet to post requests of anyone in Phoenix willing to help her locate her mother. A man named Jeff Knapp, who takes pictures of homeless individuals in Arizona, responded to her request. “He went to amazing lengths to assist me in finding my mother,” said Miranda. “It was his determination in mailing letters and flyers to officials that finally got the Phoenix PD to listen.”

November 15, 2008, Detective Eric Cosgriff with the Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Detail contacted Miranda Rhuda and reported that he had opened a case for her mother and officially declared Joyce Darlene Patterson as a missing person.

Since that time Miranda says that she has not heard much from them. “Detective Cosgriff explained to me that they would input my mother’s information into the National Missing Persons Database so that if any officers came in contact with her, it would flag her and they would contact me to let me know she was located. However, they still will not provide me with her information. They will give her my contact information and she can choose to contact me.”

Miranda is grateful to Phoenix PD for the steps they are taking with her mother’s case; however, she did say, “I wish they would just provide me with the contact information. I am afraid that my mother is not mentally well or is afraid to contact me due to the years that have passed without word. If this is the case, I may never be able to locate and speak to her. It is important that she knows what has happened in our family over the years that she has been gone. I need her to know that we are not angry with her and I must find her for healing to begin in our family. I need closure.”

If you can help in any way at getting the word out about Joyce Darlene Patterson, please contact Miranda Rhuda (Skinn) directly at misswriter415@aol.com Miranda is open to any suggestions and appreciates all responses provided.

[annalyzer]

http://mothersarevanishing.blogspot.com/2009/01/joyce-darlene-patterson.html

[misswriter415]

Joyce Patterson’s Story
1996 – Joyce boards a bus in Marion, Ohio with a couple of new found friends that help her to get her life together. She ends up in Arizona.
1997 – Joyce calls Norwalk, Ohio, to her sister Barb and whispers that she is being held against her will by members of a religious cult in Phoenix.
April 1999 – Joyce calls her daughter in Ohio and reports that she was finally released from the religious sect members and she is now living with a man named Norman Weisberger on N. 27th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona, 85028 (This is the last time that I actually talked to my mother)
May 1999 – Norman asks my mother to leave due to some unresolved personal differences, he drops her off at a Church and two months later she calls him, reporting that she is staying at (CASS) Central Arizona Shelter Systems.
November 2004 – Miranda has a letter forwarded through the social security administration to Joyce. Joyce calls from a payphone at the Westward Ho Living complex, 618 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, 85004. Miranda was not home and Joyce left a collect message saying that she wanted to come home but was unable to and hung up. (This is the last time I heard from her)
02/22/2006 – Joyce is picked up for what is listed as a Local Charge (no specifics found on case). (Address listed as transient or homeless)
06/05/2006 – Joyce is cited by Phoenix PD for consumption of liquor in a public place with no permit. (Margaret T. Hance Park) (Address listed as transient or homeless)
03/14/2007 – Joyce is picked up for shoplifting goods in the amount of $16.55 from Safeway, E. McDowell Road, Phoenix 85007 (Address listed as 813 E. Madison St., Phoenix, 85004) – This address is not good, it used to be Special Services, but is now closed down.
My mother missed her court date for the above listed charge. She failed to appear and she now has a warrant out for her arrest. The police have not been able to locate her and have had no further correspondence with her since 2007.
November 15, 2008, Detective Eric Cosgriff with the Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Detail contacted Miranda Rhuda and reported that he had opened a case for her mother and officially declared Joyce Darlene Patterson as a missing person.
It is feared that something bad has happened to her.
Miranda says, "It has been 12 years since I have seen my mother. There is not one day that has gone by, that I have not done at least something to try and locate her. Before she left we were very close. We spent a lot of time together and we were best friends."
"I believe that those people, whoever they were, took her down there to Arizona and put her in a predicament that she could not get herself out of."
She has a past of mental illness and alcoholism both. I am afraid that she got herself into a bind down there in Arizona and was unable to come home. With no family and no support down there, and no one who knows her medical history, I fear she is not receiving the treatment that she needs and that it has possibly resulted in the worst for her."
There is no reason for my mother to be homeless. If she would not have gone with those people, she would still be here today. She has family here that misses her very much and wants her home."
I am the a young wife and mother of three children. I do not have the financial means to travel to Arizona. Because of this, I have taken to posting to the internet and requesting assistance from anyone that I can. In my search, I have found a man named Jeff L. Knapp. He has done some photo work of some of the homeless down there. He responded to my request for assistance and has been incredibly helpful. He went to amazing lengths to assist me in finding my mother. It was his determination in mailing letters and flyers to officials that finally got the Phoenix Police Department to list my mother as missing.
If she is homeless, it is likely that she may be in bad shape. I am afraid that my mother is not mentally well or is afraid to contact me due to the years that have passed without word. If this is the case, I may never be able to locate and speak to her. It is important that she knows what has happened in our family over the years that she has been gone. I need her to know that we are not angry with her and I must find her for healing to begin in our family. I need closure.
I am trying to reach out to people in Phoenix. I believe that my best bet in finding her is by passing her picture and story along to as many people as possible. There may be someone who knows someone who knows her. If you know her at all or have been in contact with her AT ALL over the last 12 years, I beg you to please contact me.
I am starting an e-mail campaign, hoping it will get passed to as many people as possible in Arizona. Please forward this along! If you can help in any other way at getting the word out about Joyce Darlene Patterson, such as posting flyers, etc… please contact me, Miranda Rhuda (Skinn) directly at misswriter415@aol.com
In a recent background and social security search there was a PO BOX address listed in Narrows, VA under my mother's name and date of birth. There were also addresses listed in Tempe, AZ. I need to talk to anyone and find out whether they know her or if someone has possibly stolen her identity.
LATEST NEWS ** 02/16/2009 **
Today is a joyous day for me in the search for my mother. I actually got some case leads on her.
I uncovered a medical bill that was placed in collections and posted on my mother’s credit report on August 15, 2008. Upon calling the collections company, I was told that my mother received “critical care” in the amount of $613 on March 1, 2007. I asked them why it was not already paid and they notified me that her Mercy Care Plan was terminated on February 28, 2008. They were unable to tell me who the service provider was though.
I asked them what address they billed her at and they said that the first address that they had on file, from the provider was 618 N. Central Ave. #103, Phoenix. Then they received a different mailing address for her which was 1205 3rd St. North, Phoenix. I have already had my friend Jeff look into the 3rd St. address and it is no longer valid. However, the 618 N. Central Ave address dates back to 2005 for me.
November 2005, I had a letter forwarded through the social security administration to my mom. She called and left a collect message on my house phone saying that she was unable to talk, but that she had not forgotten me. I had the call traced and it traced back to Westward Ho’s payphone in their lobby. Westward Ho’s address is 618 N. Central Ave.
Just on a whim, I did a reverse address look up, picked one of the hundreds of resident names and phone numbers listed called it (he does not want his name disclosed). By the grace of God guiding me, I got a tenant that was willing to help me. After explaining my situation, he told to e-mail the information to him and he would see what he could find out for me. I didn’t realize that he was going to do it so quickly. Bless his heart! He has e-mailed this evening and informed me that my mother was not a registered renter at the Westward Ho, but that she was residing with a man named Roy, unknown last name.
He said that Roy, supposedly still lives there in the same #103 apartment and that he will go and try to get some information from Roy. Cross your fingers… this could be a good lead!!
If anyone has any information about this new lead, Roy or the Westward Ho, please contact me at misswriter415@aol.com
I am thanking God in more ways than one tonight. Thank you all for you support! FEBRUARY 18, 2009 NEW INFO.
Hope is a little dim for me today... New leads on mom's case not panning out!!
A Private Investigator doing some free work for me, bless his soul, went down to the Westward Ho today to check out the new lead on my mom. He said that he talked to this "Roy" guy. There was no evidence of a female living in that apartment. Roy denied knowing my mother or ever even seeing her. And he said he is not going to go to jail for her... Kelly says that he is possibly an ex-con. He may have done some time in jail or prison.
I am getting a really bad feeling from this everyone! I think that this man knows something about my mom or where she is and is not disclosing.
Why would he do that? If he doesn't know her than why would he assume he was going to go to jail in connection with her?
I am going to talk to the Phoenix PD, next week, when Det. Cosgriff is back from vacation and see what they say about talking to this guy. I imagine that they probably won't do much for me... so I am going to keep on trying to what I can from here, with Gwen's help and other connections (including the tenant at the Westward Ho).
It is possible that this man is just mentally unstable, met my mom when they were homeless, allowed her to stay there and now does not know where she is... I guess?

[Amusedtdth]

God Bless you Miranda and Good Luck!

[sarahhod]

Sadly, Joyce was found deceased in March of 2007. Because the family could not get a law enforcement agency to take a missing person's case until 2008, they did not know of her passing until now with the additional research that was done after the case was in place.

Our condolences to her family.

http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=5317.msg31588#msg31588

[Roamer]

Such a sad case.

My sincere condolences to Joyce's family.

[packy]

So sorry to hear this news.

My condolences to Miranda and all the family.

[Grande]

May you rest in peace Joyce Darlene Patterson.

[Amusedtdth]

RIP Joyce
I'm so sorry for the familys loss...