Alexis Patterson-Missing Ten Years

IT WAS May 3, 2002 when 7 year old Alexis Patterson walked to Hi-Mount Boulevard School, where she was a first grader, with her stepfather. The school was less than a block away from Alexis' family's home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she lived with her mother as well. It was 8:00 A.M. when Alexis' stepfather watched her walk towards the playground before turning back towards their residence. She never attended classes that day and has never been seen again.

Alexis was seven years old when she vanished. She is an African American female was 3'8" and 42 lbs at the time of her disappearance. She has a scar below her right eye, bump on her left pinky finger, pierced ears and is right handed. Her gums are darker in color and her primary and secondary teeth are crowded. She goes by the nicknames "Lexi" and "Pie".
Alexis was last seen wearing a red pullover nylon jacket with a hood attached to it, with gray stripes running down each sleeve. She wore a light purple blouse or a blue shirt with horizontal stripes. She also wore light blue jeans, blue and white high top Nike Sneakers, and gold cluster type diamond sunflower shaped earrings. She wore her hair in two french braids tied together in a pony tail.

As of this year, Alexis has been missing for a decade.

Classmates had reported witnessing Alexis crying on the playground before school. They also reported seeing a red truck that was parked near the school for most of the week. It would not drop anyone off, or pick anyone up. After Alexis vanished, the red truck was never seen again.  It has never been confirmed or identified. Her parents were not notified of her absence from class until after school. The surrounding areas such as Washington Park, a nearby lagoon and various streets amongst the area.
Authorities do not believe Alexis' family is responsible for her disappearance, however, her stepfather failed a polygraph test after her disappearance and was charged with an unrelated crime. Alexis is not thought to be a runaway-she did very well in school and was close to her family.
There has been various tips throughout her case, such as that her remains were in the Milwaukee River to her being in a vacant Baton Rouge house in Louisiana. Both searches were unsuccessful.
Currently, her mother and sisters still hold a celebration for her birthday every year. There is a $10,000 dollar reward for information leading to her whereabouts. Her mother still holds out hope, ten year later, that Alexis will come home.

First, I will say despite Alexis being gone for ten years now, her case is still moving, and very active. It sounds like police are hunting down every tip possible. I believe her family is no doubt a huge factor in pushing Alexis' case along. Even if it may sound "mushy", I definitely believe it's their love and perseverance that will bring her home.

Asha Degree vanished on Valentine's Day of 2000. She remains missing.

For some reason I relate Alexis' case to Asha Degree's. These girls were both young, with similar physical traits, and they just vanished into thin air. I think it's safe to say that in both these cases, I would lean the most towards stranger abduction. It is definitely a possibility that a predator was watching the kids on the playground. (Could that explain the red truck parked not on school property, but suspiciously by it?) It has happened in many other cases where children were taken from school (Bianca LeBron), and it is something that will continue to happen.

Sarah Anne Bushland vanished after exiting the school bus in 1996, in Spooner, WI.

I was curious to see if there were any other cases in Wisconsin that have any similarities to Alexis'. I found there are many African American females missing, but many are considered runaways. One case that happened just a few years before Alexis' is that of Sarah Anne Bushland. She vanished on April 3, 1996 from Spooner, WI at 15 years old. They may not have similar physical characteristics, but the circumstances are eery. Sarah vanished after exiting the school bus at the end of the drive way. She was last seen talking to an individual in an unidentified pick up truck. They backed out of Sarah's driveway and started off in the direction of Trego. She is not considered a runaway and her belongings were not missing that she would have taken. Sarah's family says she would not get into a car with a stranger, and are convinced the person driving the truck is someone she knew. Her friends called her "Bug".

 Sarah Bushland's family has created a website in her honor, and will continue to search until they find her. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

It was speculated her disappearance was related to an unsolved murder of a teen girl who vanished months later in October 1996 from Cable, WI, named Crystal Soulier. She was later found deceased, but not identified until 2002. It was questioned if Crystal and Sarah's cases are connected. Both are petite blonds, with 19 mutual friends that were male. Both girls would attend parties thrown by these men. Crystal's murder is unsolved. Sarah Bushland remains missing. For more information on both of them, please visit The Find Sarah Bushland Website.
Of course, there are many other cases across the country that are similar to Alexis'. One often wonders if some of them are connected, despite distance. Since it appears there are no other missing girls, besides Sarah, who's vanishing appears similar to Alexis', my question has often been if the perp has done this before, or after taking Alexis? And more importantly, where does the kidnapper have her now?

There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to Alexis' whereabouts.

 If you have any information about the disappearance of Alexis Patterson, please contact Washburn County Sheriff's Office at:

715-468-4700

Both Crystal and Sarah's cases are open. This is an age progression of Sarah. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

If you have any information about the disappearance of Sarah Bushland or the unsolved murder of Crystal Soulier, please contact:

Susie Whitehorse from NCMEC
1-800-843-4673

Sources:
Charley Project-Alexis Patterson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/patterson_alexis.html
Charley Project-Sarah Bushland
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bushland_sara.html
Charley Project- Asha Degree
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/degree_asha.html
JS Online News
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/after-10-years-alexis-pattersons-mother-still-holds-out-hope-2p56uqc-149449205.html
Website for Alexis
http://www.alexispatterson.freeservers.com/
http://www.findsarabushland.com/news-updates/one-murdered-one-missing-spooner-advocate-sara-bushland-and-crystal-soulier