Overview

Last seen: December 8, 1975, according to the California Department of Justice and NamUs; several secondary sources give December 5, 1975.
Location: San Francisco, California.
Age: 24.
Status: Missing; case remains publicly listed.
NamUs: MP30551.
San Francisco Police case: 170197610.

Main circumstances: Patrick reportedly left for a walk while in San Francisco and did not return. Secondary accounts state that he was traveling with his parents, that the family was staying overnight in San Francisco, and that he left his wallet behind. No confirmed sighting of Patrick after his disappearance has been publicly documented.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Patrick Albert Wright Missing Person Case: Disappearance in San Francisco, California in 1975

Patrick Albert Wright was 24 years old when he disappeared in San Francisco, California, in December 1975. More than five decades later, his whereabouts remain unknown, and his case continues to be listed by the California Department of Justice and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Official and secondary records disagree on the precise date Patrick was last seen. The California Department of Justice and the current NamUs record give December 8, 1975, while The Charley Project and several other sources list December 5, 1975. Both place his disappearance in San Francisco.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: December 8, 1975, according to the California Department of Justice and NamUs; several secondary sources give December 5, 1975.
Location: San Francisco, California.
Age: 24.
Status: Missing; case remains publicly listed.
NamUs: MP30551.
San Francisco Police case: 170197610.

Main circumstances: Patrick reportedly left for a walk while in San Francisco and did not return. Secondary accounts state that he was traveling with his parents, that the family was staying overnight in San Francisco, and that he left his wallet behind. No confirmed sighting of Patrick after his disappearance has been publicly documented.

Patrick Albert Wright Disappears in San Francisco

Patrick Albert Wright, known as Pat, was born on December 9, 1950. He was described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes, approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing about 175 pounds. California’s official missing-person listing gives his height as 5 feet 10 inches.

Patrick was only days away from his 25th birthday when he vanished.

The brief description preserved by The Charley Project says Patrick went for a walk in San Francisco and simply never returned. He has not been heard from since.

What Happened Before Patrick Wright Went Missing?

A more detailed account published by Whereabouts Still Unknown states that Patrick and his parents lived in Torrance, California, and had traveled north to Humboldt County for a wedding. According to that account, the family stopped in San Francisco while returning home.

After arriving at their hotel, Patrick reportedly said he wanted to stretch his legs following the long drive and went out for what was expected to be a short walk.

He never came back.

The same account states that Patrick’s parents searched for him by driving around the area and contacted police. It also reports that Patrick had left his wallet in the hotel room. These additional circumstances do not appear in the brief California Department of Justice public entry, so they should be understood as details from secondary case reporting rather than information independently confirmed in the state’s listing.

Questions About Patrick’s Vulnerability

Some case discussions have described Patrick as particularly vulnerable at the time he disappeared.

Whereabouts Still Unknown reports that Patrick experienced mental illness, including schizophrenia, and raises the possibility that he became disoriented after leaving the hotel.

There is also a notable 2026 Websleuths post from a person identifying Patrick as their uncle. That poster stated that Patrick experienced mental-health instability and said the family has wondered whether he became lost during a psychiatric episode or encountered someone and was harmed. Because Websleuths posts are user-generated, the relationship and statements should not be treated as independently verified law-enforcement findings.

No publicly available official source reviewed for this article identifies foul play as the confirmed explanation for Patrick’s disappearance.

Why Do Records Give Two Different Missing Dates?

One of the most important issues when researching Patrick Albert Wright is the conflicting disappearance date.

The California Department of Justice currently lists December 8, 1975 as Patrick’s date last seen. NamUs search information likewise identifies his last contact as December 8.

However, The Charley Project lists December 5, 1975, as does the detailed secondary account from Whereabouts Still Unknown. Websleuths material derived from earlier NamUs information also gives December 5.

There is not enough publicly accessible documentation to determine why the records differ. For that reason, both dates should remain attached to discussions of Patrick’s disappearance unless investigators clarify which is correct.

Patrick Wright’s Missing Person Records

Patrick’s case has remained in national and state missing-person databases.

NamUs identifies the case as MP30551. The California Department of Justice lists the investigating agency as the San Francisco Police Department and gives case number 170197610.

The California record also states that dental X-rays are not available. That can be significant in a long-term missing-person investigation because dental records are one method used to compare missing people against unidentified remains.

Recent Activity and Continuing Investigation

Patrick remains publicly listed as missing. The California Department of Justice’s current searchable database continues to display his case and San Francisco Police Department contact information.

A notable recent development in the public case record occurred on February 7, 2026, when The Doe Network added Patrick to its missing-person database as case 7086DMCA. The listing does not indicate that he has been located; rather, it expands the number of organizations publicly circulating his case.

There has also been amateur comparison work. In May 2024, a Websleuths member reported submitting Patrick and an unidentified man from Berkeley, California, to NamUs as a possible comparison. The unidentified man was reportedly found in 1985. This is not a confirmed identification or official match, and no publicly available authoritative result of that proposed comparison was located during this review.

In April 2026, the Websleuths user identifying Patrick as an uncle added family perspective to the thread, describing the disappearance as something that continues to trouble the family. Again, these statements are useful as publicly available family-related discussion but have not been independently authenticated.

As of the latest records reviewed, there has been no public announcement that Patrick has been found, identified among unidentified remains, or that anyone has been charged in connection with his disappearance. His official California listing remains active.

What Happened to Patrick Albert Wright?

The limited surviving information leaves several possibilities open.

Patrick may have become lost or disoriented after leaving the family’s lodging. He could have suffered an accident or medical emergency. Foul play is another possibility discussed by people familiar with the case, but no publicly released evidence establishes that Patrick was the victim of a crime.

What is known is considerably simpler: a 24-year-old man went out for a walk in San Francisco in December 1975, never returned to his family, and has remained missing for more than 50 years.

Anyone with information that could help determine what happened to Patrick Albert Wright should contact the San Francisco Police Department and reference case 170197610.