March 5, 1957. El Paso, Texas. 52-year old William “Pat” Patterson and his 42-year old wife, Margaret Patterson, vanish without explanation from their home, leaving everything behind. A friend of the couple soon claims to have received a phone call from Pat, who allegedly said that he and Margaret were leaving town for awhile. Ten days later, Pat’s accountant receives a telegram from him, which states that he and Margaret are on an extended vacation and provides instructions about how to handle their assets and business. However, there is speculation that Pat did not actually write the telegram and evidence eventually emerges to suggest that the couple were victims of foul play. The case attains further notoriety when rumours spread that the Pattersons’ former home is haunted and their remains might be buried somewhere on the property. On this week’s Halloween-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a baffling unsolved cold case involving a missing couple which contains numerous theories involving murder, espionage and the paranormal.

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Additional Reading:

http://charleyproject.org/case/william-durrell-patterson

http://charleyproject.org/case/margaret-m-patterson

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/2017/03/06/el-paso-familys-disappearance-remains-mystery/98702680/

https://kfoxtv.com/news/special-assignments/vanished

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2009/03/04/48-years-many-theories-no-leads-still-missing/31519165/

http://www.ephistory.com/the-patterson-files/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/68700556/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/68700643/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/68702771/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/430520778/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/460319450/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/430521118/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/436273013/

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“The Trail Went Cold” is now doing a weekly livestream show on GetVokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.