MILWAUKEE — May 3, 2021, will mark 19 years since then seven-year-old Alexis Patterson disappeared without a trace.
“This is one of those cases, when you think Milwaukee, unfortunately, things like Jeffrey Dahmer and Alexis Patterson are names that come up,” says detective Timothy Keller of the Milwaukee police department’s cold case division.
Despite nearly two decades passing, police have never stopped looking for her.
“Obviously right in the beginning when she first went missing, it was an incredibly active investigation to the point where uniformed cops and detectives were pounding on doors in the neighborhood, flyers were up, and it was just really trying to go anywhere that she could possibly be,” Keller says.
The investigation has changed over the years, from physical search parties between police and members of the community, to a tip-based investigation.
“We still want to bring her home, not only for her family, but to bring closure to the entire city,” Keller says.
Patterson’s stepfather, LeRon Bourgeois, was the last person who reportedly saw Patterson before she disappeared. He was found dead with his wife, Michelle, in their home Tuesday.
“He did die of what we are investigating as a drug overdose,” Keller says.
They’ve constantly received tips for years, but Keller says Bourgeois’ death has caused the phones at the station to ring off the hook.
"We have people calling quite a bit that are calling because they suspect potentially they have seen Alexis,” Keller says. "Any of those calls, any of those tips, we follow up on 100%.”
Just a few years ago, a tip led them to a woman in Ohio. A DNA test was done on that woman and showed she was not Patterson.
The calls to the police department also bring in a lot of theories on who may or may not have been involved.
“Theories waste time and muddy the waters, and honestly we agree with that,” Keller says. "We have to be very careful that we don’t get sidetracked on what people believe could have happened, and we try to stay with the facts.”
Even though this is a cold case investigation, Keller says it’s still a ‘missing persons’ case, not a homicide.
“We have no evidence to say one way or the other if she is alive or deceased,” Keller says.
But, he believes it’s a missing person’s case that can be solved.
"I think what this case needs is the right person who knows what happened to Alexis to come forward and provide that information,” Keller says.
That information can bring closure to Alexis’ family, and to a community that’s been hoping she’ll be found for nearly 20 years.
If you have any information that can help police solve this case, you’re asked to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).