Patrick was last seen at his residence in Needles, California, on July 28, 1995. Authorities reported sightings of him in Laughlin, Nevada, after he disappeared and initially believed he might have run away with a group of other juvenile males.

A few days after Patrick vanished, police discovered a duffel bag behind a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. Though it was initially suspected to be Patrick’s, it was later confirmed to belong to his older brother, who had left it there prior to Patrick’s disappearance.

At the time of his disappearance, Patrick was living with his mother and stepfather, Jimmy Joe Cox. In 2012, Cox was convicted of the 1982 murder of a young woman and sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison. He has since died in prison.