Patty disappeared with her fraternal twin sister, Peggy, in 1979. The twins lived with their mother, Joyce Rivituso, in New Jersey. To encourage independence, Rivituso sent Peggy to live with their father in Live Oak, Florida, but Patty joined her sister a few months later, unable to bear the separation. That summer, the twins befriended 19-year-old Marvin Warren and moved with him and 36-year-old Eddie Gross to Pompano Beach, Florida. They found jobs and later wrote to Rivituso, asking for help to return to New Jersey but left no contact information. Despite her letters urging them to call, they didn’t respond, prompting her to request a welfare check. Rivituso was told Peggy had filed a missing persons report for Patty, claiming she had been missing for two days. A short time later, Patty herself canceled the report. The twins also befriended Nelson George Johnson, a 25-year-old man, who accused Gross of hiding Patty during the two days she was missing and told his family he would be taking the twins to a disco club. Johnson was found shot dead in the trunk of his vehicle four days later.