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?
