It all began on March 6, 1957, when William “Pat" Patterson, 52, owner of a photo supply store, called his friend David Kirkland to tell him he and his wife Margaret, 42, were going away for a while. Not long after the call, another associate of Patterson’s received a telegram with instructions on how to liquidate the family’s assets and lease their home. No luggage had been taken from the property, and unwashed dishes remained in the sink. Most curious of all, Margaret’s beloved cat Tommy had been left to wander the neighborhood and appeared half-starved by the time he was found. Close friends insisted that Margaret would never leave her beloved cat unattended. All signs pointed to the Pattersons leaving abruptly, possibly in fear of something or someone.
Patterson Photo Supply was a thriving photography shop, grossing $20,000 a month. The family had cars, a boat, a well-kept home, and a good reputation in the community. The El Paso Sheriff’s Office found no obvious clues of foul play, and no money had been withdrawn from any of the Pattersons’ bank accounts. The only lead police received at the time was from Estefana Arroyo Marfin, who came forward to tell police that she had been romantically involved with Pat and had heard from him shortly before his disappearance. He told her, “When they come for me, I’ll have to go in a hurry.” Who “they” were was a mystery. With no evidence of a crime, the case went cold.
In 1958, the Pattersons’ family attorney, David Smith, received a letter from Pat, asking him to divide up his business and possessions among his employees. The letter read: “I want you to handle this matter for us. We will not be back in El Paso, and by the time you get this we will be out of the country and nobody can find us.” In 1959, encouraging news came out of Valle de Bravo, a resort community just outside of Mexico City, where numerous people insisted they had seen or encountered the Pattersons in September 1958 — more than a year following their disappearance.
By 1964, the couple was declared legally dead, and by 1967 their estate was being divvied up among heirs — mostly siblings and nieces and nephews. Their wills had stipulated leaving money to each other, an impossible edict to fulfill. As recently as 2022, El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego said he thought the Pattersons were spies. Some people said they had seen Patterson take photographs of Fort Bliss and of military shipments on the trains that went there. However, there was no concrete proof that the Pattersons were enemies of the state. Now, over 6 decades following their disappearance, no one is certain who or what drove the Pattersons out of El Paso. One thing most investigators have agreed on is the fact that someone who knew them wanted or needed them dead.