Overview

Last seen: March 5, 1957
Location: The Pattersons’ residence in the 3000 block of Piedmont Drive, El Paso, Texas
Missing: Margaret M. Patterson, 42, and her husband, William Durrell “Pat” Patterson, 52
Status: Endangered missing; both were later declared legally dead, but no bodies have been recovered and no homicide has been proven.
Key circumstances: Margaret appeared upset during the couple’s last known encounter with a neighbor. By the following morning, the Pattersons were gone, leaving their home, possessions, vehicles, planned commitments, and Margaret’s cherished cat behind. Questionable messages later claimed they had voluntarily left town. Decades later, a witness alleged he had seen blood and possible human tissue at their home. The disappearance remains unsolved.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Margaret M. Patterson Disappearance: The 1957 El Paso, Texas Mystery That Remains Unsolved

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: March 5, 1957
Location: The Pattersons’ residence in the 3000 block of Piedmont Drive, El Paso, Texas
Missing: Margaret M. Patterson, 42, and her husband, William Durrell “Pat” Patterson, 52
Status: Endangered missing; both were later declared legally dead, but no bodies have been recovered and no homicide has been proven.
Key circumstances: Margaret appeared upset during the couple’s last known encounter with a neighbor. By the following morning, the Pattersons were gone, leaving their home, possessions, vehicles, planned commitments, and Margaret’s cherished cat behind. Questionable messages later claimed they had voluntarily left town. Decades later, a witness alleged he had seen blood and possible human tissue at their home. The disappearance remains unsolved.

Margaret M. Patterson and the Mysterious 1957 Disappearance in El Paso

Margaret M. Patterson was 42 years old when she and her husband, William Durrell “Pat” Patterson, disappeared from El Paso, Texas, in March 1957. Nearly seven decades later, their case remains one of the city’s most enduring missing-person mysteries.

Margaret was described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, approximately 110 pounds, with red or auburn hair. Her maiden name was Kiefer, and she had reportedly been known as “Tillie” when she was younger. She grew up near Owensboro, Kentucky, but had been estranged from her family for many years by the time she disappeared.

The Pattersons’ Last Known Evening

The last confirmed sighting of Margaret and William took place at their home in the 3000 block of Piedmont Drive on March 5, 1957.

A neighbor stopped at the house to deliver Girl Scout cookies. According to accounts preserved in the case record, Margaret appeared noticeably upset, while William appeared displeased that the neighbor had come inside. The neighbor left shortly afterward.

Neighbors reportedly noticed unusual activity around the Patterson residence later that night. By the next morning, Margaret and William were gone.

What they left behind made the disappearance especially difficult to explain as an ordinary vacation. Dinner dishes remained unwashed. Clothing had been left out. Utilities were still connected. Mail and newspaper deliveries had not been stopped. Fur coats remained behind, as did the Pattersons’ automobiles and Margaret’s beloved cat. They had also made future travel arrangements that had not been canceled before they vanished.

A Mysterious Telephone Call and Abandoned Cadillac

One of the first unusual developments involved Doyle Kirkland, a friend and business associate of William Patterson.

Kirkland later said he received a telephone call during the early morning hours of March 6 from someone he believed was William. The caller reportedly said he and Margaret were going away for a while. Kirkland acknowledged during the later inquiry, however, that he had been sleepy and could not be certain the caller was actually William.

William’s Cadillac also surfaced under unusual circumstances. Contemporary accounts placed it at the business of Cecil Ward, a friend who operated an automobile shop. Ward had recently spent time with William and said William had made plans with him for later in the week—behavior that appeared inconsistent with an abrupt, extended departure.

The March 15 Telegram Raised More Questions

On March 15, 1957, accountant Herbert Roth received a telegram containing instructions for managing the Pattersons’ business and property.

The telegram had been telephoned to Western Union in Dallas from near Love Field Airport. Among other instructions, Roth was directed to rent the Patterson home, sell a mobile home, use the proceeds for the photography business, and place Kirkland in charge of the store.

One detail immediately stood out: the telegram was signed “W.H. Patterson.” William’s actual initials were W.D. Patterson.

The message created the appearance that the couple had chosen to leave voluntarily, but it did not answer why they apparently departed without preparing their house, caring for Margaret’s cat, taking important possessions, or canceling previous plans.

Margaret’s Cat Became an Important Clue

Margaret was reportedly extremely devoted to her yellow-and-white cat, Tommy. Yet the animal was left behind when she disappeared.

The cat subsequently vanished from the property itself and returned more than four months later in poor condition. People familiar with Margaret reportedly found it difficult to believe she would voluntarily leave the animal without arranging for someone to care for it.

While this was not proof of foul play, investigators and later researchers have regarded it as one of several circumstances suggesting Margaret had not planned an extended absence.

The Couple Was Not Reported Missing for Five Months

Despite their sudden disappearance, an official missing-person report was not filed until August 15, 1957—approximately five months after the couple was last seen.

Business associates had initially maintained that Margaret and William were vacationing and later claimed they had communicated that they would not return to El Paso. Several purported sightings were subsequently reported in both the United States and Mexico, but none were confirmed.

The long delay complicated the investigation considerably. By the time authorities formally began treating the disappearance as a missing-person case, the Patterson residence had already been entered and handled by other people, potentially eliminating or contaminating evidence that might have existed in March.

The Letter That Supposedly Explained Everything

Another mysterious communication surfaced after the disappearance.

The Pattersons’ attorney received a typewritten letter dated May 29 and postmarked in Laredo, Texas. The letter claimed that Margaret and William were leaving the country permanently and included detailed instructions for distributing William’s businesses and property.

The proposed beneficiaries were largely business associates rather than William’s surviving relatives. Margaret, although a co-owner of the photography business, had not signed the document.

Investigators compared the handwritten “W.D. Patterson” signature with genuine examples of William’s writing. Experts reportedly noted both similarities and discrepancies and could not conclusively authenticate it. The letter also failed to function as a valid will because of legal deficiencies, including the lack of Margaret’s signature and witnesses to William’s signature.

Whether William actually authored the document remains unresolved.

The Court of Inquiry Failed to Solve the Mystery

El Paso authorities eventually convened an unusual court of inquiry into the disappearance.

Witnesses testified about the couple, the telephone call, communications supposedly sent by William, and claims that associates had heard from him after March 1957. At least one witness admitted having falsely told others that he had remained in contact with William, explaining that William had previously asked him to make it appear everything was normal if he ever disappeared.

The inquiry ultimately failed to establish where Margaret and William had gone or whether either was still alive.

The couple were declared legally dead in 1964. Their missing-person cases, however, remained unresolved.

The 1984 Witness and Allegations of Blood in the Garage

The direction of the case changed dramatically in 1984 when a man who said he had worked inside the Patterson residence shortly after the disappearance approached investigators.

According to the account preserved in case summaries, the witness claimed that while helping clean the property he saw what appeared to be blood around and beneath a water heater in the garage. More disturbingly, he claimed to have observed what looked like a piece of human scalp or tissue associated with the propeller of William’s boat.

He also alleged that he witnessed one of the Pattersons’ associates remove bloodstained sheets from the house and place them into a car.

The man explained that he had not contacted authorities in 1957 because he was undocumented at the time and feared immigration consequences. He died in an automobile accident approximately two years after giving his statement.

His allegations have never been independently confirmed.

That distinction is crucial: the reported blood, sheets and possible human tissue are witness allegations, not established forensic findings. No publicly documented laboratory evidence has proven that Margaret or William was killed inside the Piedmont Drive home.

Was Margaret Patterson Murdered?

Foul play has long been one of the principal theories, but authorities have never established that Margaret was murdered.

Several circumstances have fueled suspicion: her reportedly distressed appearance shortly before disappearing; the abrupt abandonment of the home and cat; questions surrounding the telephone call, telegram and later letter; and the witness who surfaced in 1984 alleging evidence of violence inside the garage.

Other theories have included a deliberately staged disappearance, financial motives, William’s reported relationships outside the marriage, travel into Mexico, and even espionage. More sensational stories involving UFOs and paranormal activity eventually became part of El Paso folklore, but there is no credible evidence establishing those explanations.

The available evidence does not establish who, if anyone, committed a crime.

Latest Public Investigation Information

The most recent case-specific law-enforcement update I located was reported by CBS4/KFOX14 in March 2024.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant James Belknap said the department had received no new leads since the station previously discussed the case with the Sheriff’s Office in 2017. He emphasized that cases of this nature remain open indefinitely and that investigators continue to evaluate credible information when it is received.

Belknap also identified the age of the case as a major obstacle. People who witnessed events or potentially possessed firsthand information have died, and others would now be extremely elderly.

As of the latest publicly available information located through August 2026, neither Margaret nor William has been found, no one has been charged in connection with their disappearance, and their fate remains officially unresolved.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office continues to operate a Criminal Investigations Division that handles major crimes and Crimes Against Persons investigations. Its 2025 annual report confirms those investigative functions remain active within the agency.