Overview

Last Seen: January 1, 1975
Location: Glendora, Los Angeles County, California
Age: 16; some sources describe her as 16–17
Date of Birth: September 1, 1958
Nickname: Patty Wilson
Status: Endangered Missing

Main circumstances: Patricia was last known to be in Glendora sometime in 1975 and was never heard from again. Publicly available official records contain almost no information about where she was going, whom she was with, what she was wearing, or the circumstances immediately preceding her disappearance.

A potentially significant development has emerged through missing-person and unidentified-person researchers: an unidentified young woman who called herself “Patty” died in Los Angeles County on December 21, 1975. Similarities between the unidentified woman and Patricia have been submitted for official review, but no identification connecting the two women has been publicly confirmed.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Patricia Suzanne Wilson: Missing from Glendora, California Since 1975

Patricia Suzanne Wilson, known as “Patty,” was a teenage girl who disappeared from Glendora, California, in 1975. More than five decades later, she remains listed as missing, and remarkably little has been publicly documented about what happened before she vanished. California authorities list her date of last contact as January 1, 1975.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: January 1, 1975
Location: Glendora, Los Angeles County, California
Age: 16; some sources describe her as 16–17
Date of Birth: September 1, 1958
Nickname: Patty Wilson
Status: Endangered Missing

Main circumstances: Patricia was last known to be in Glendora sometime in 1975 and was never heard from again. Publicly available official records contain almost no information about where she was going, whom she was with, what she was wearing, or the circumstances immediately preceding her disappearance.

A potentially significant development has emerged through missing-person and unidentified-person researchers: an unidentified young woman who called herself “Patty” died in Los Angeles County on December 21, 1975. Similarities between the unidentified woman and Patricia have been submitted for official review, but no identification connecting the two women has been publicly confirmed.

Who Was Patricia Suzanne Wilson?

Patricia was born September 1, 1958. The California Department of Justice describes her as a white female with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 130 pounds. She was also known as Patty Wilson.

The Charley Project classifies Patricia as an endangered missing person and gives her age at disappearance as 16 to 17. Its case file contains only a short description of her disappearance: she was last seen in Glendora sometime in 1975, disappeared, and has never been heard from again.

The lack of publicly available information is one of the defining features of Patricia’s case. There is no publicly documented account identifying a final witness, specific last-seen address, vehicle, suspected offender, destination, or confirmed reason for her disappearance.

The 1975 Disappearance

California’s official missing-person record uses January 1, 1975 as Patricia’s date of last contact. That date may function as the official missing date rather than indicating that investigators know she disappeared at a specific time on New Year’s Day. The Charley Project more broadly states that she was last seen in Glendora “sometime in 1975.”

Patricia was only 16 years old on January 1, 1975. There is no public evidence establishing whether she left voluntarily, intended to return, encountered someone after leaving, or became the victim of a crime.

Her disappearance therefore remains an open-ended mystery rather than a publicly documented homicide case.

A Case That Reemerged Decades Later

Patricia’s case gained considerably more public visibility in recent years. The California Department of Justice included her in its January–March 2024 Missing Persons Quarterly Bulletin, listing Glendora Police Department case number 23-31264.

The Charley Project added Patricia’s case file on February 1, 2024. The Doe Network subsequently added her as case 4941DFCA on October 23, 2024.

The comparatively recent case number and database additions do not establish when Patricia was first reported missing. They do, however, show that her decades-old disappearance has received renewed documentation and public exposure.

Could an Unidentified “Patty” Be Patricia Wilson?

The most important recent lead discussed publicly involves NamUs unidentified-person case UP4456, also listed by the Doe Network as 1373UFCA.

The unidentified woman died in Los Angeles County on December 21, 1975—less than a year after Patricia’s official last-contact date. According to case information reproduced from the Doe Network, she was a white female estimated to be 20–30 years old, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and 111 pounds, with blonde-to-light-brown hair and blue/hazel eyes. She had a scar on her right knee and tattoos reading “Huera” on her left wrist and “Patty” on her left inner forearm. Fingerprints were reported as available.

The unidentified woman reportedly arrived at a friend’s residence at approximately 2:00 p.m. on December 21, 1975, apparently under the influence of possible narcotics. Later that night she began vomiting. Medical assistance was summoned, but she was dead when responders arrived. Her death was described as a probable drug overdose. She had reportedly met the friend approximately six months earlier at a bar around 9th Street and Vermont Avenue and identified herself as “Patty.”

There are obvious reasons researchers noticed the case: Patricia used the nickname Patty; both women had light-colored hair and hazel or partially hazel eyes; their heights were relatively close; both cases involve Los Angeles County; and the unidentified woman died during the same year Patricia disappeared.

There are also discrepancies. Patricia was only 16 or 17, while the unidentified woman’s estimated age was 20–30. Patricia was listed as 5 feet 7 inches and 130 pounds, compared with approximately 5 feet 5 inches and 111 pounds for the unidentified woman. Those differences mean the resemblance cannot be treated as proof.

The Right-Knee Scar

One particularly interesting detail surfaced through online case discussion.

In September 2024, a Websleuths contributor who had publicized Patricia’s disappearance reported that someone claiming to have known Patricia in childhood said Patricia underwent surgery on her right knee as a child and was left with a scar. The unidentified “Patty” in UP4456 was documented as having a scar on her right knee.

This information is potentially significant, but it remains unverified publicly sourced information from an online discussion, not a characteristic currently listed for Patricia by the California Department of Justice. It should therefore be treated as a lead rather than established fact.

Latest Investigation Information

The potential Patricia Wilson–UP4456 comparison was reportedly submitted to authorities. In February 2025, the person who submitted the information wrote that they had been told it was being looked into but had received no further information. A June 2025 discussion continued to report no publicly visible exclusion connecting Patricia to that unidentified-person case.

Interest intensified again in April 2026. Websleuths discussion concerning UP4456 specifically revisited Patricia as a possible match. Participants noted an important forensic obstacle: the unidentified woman has fingerprints available, while publicly accessible information has not established that comparable fingerprints exist for Patricia.

According to an April 2026 discussion, information about the possible match was also emailed to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner and reportedly received a response stating that the submitted information would be reviewed. This information comes from the submitter’s account on Websleuths rather than a public law-enforcement announcement.

As of September 2026, Patricia remains publicly listed by the California Department of Justice as missing. The Charley Project likewise continues to list her as endangered missing, and the September 2026 activity on her Websleuths case thread contains no announcement that she has been located or identified.

Most importantly, there is currently no publicly confirmed determination that UP4456 is Patricia Suzanne Wilson. The similarities make the comparison worthy of investigation, but until authorities establish an identification through fingerprints, DNA, records, or another reliable method, the connection remains a hypothesis.

Why Patricia Wilson’s Case Still Matters

Patricia’s disappearance illustrates one of the major difficulties surrounding missing-person cases dating to the 1970s. Records can be sparse, physical evidence may be unavailable, and cases entered into modern databases decades later may not automatically connect with unidentified people who died during the same era.

The renewed attention surrounding Patricia demonstrates why continued comparison of historical missing-person and unidentified-person records can matter. Even after more than 50 years, a nickname, physical characteristic, old photograph, fingerprint record, medical history, or surviving family DNA could potentially provide information that did not exist—or was not readily searchable—when Patricia disappeared.

For now, Patricia Suzanne “Patty” Wilson remains missing from Glendora, California, and the question of what happened to the teenager in 1975 remains unanswered.