Missing Since 1992: Patricia Kopta Found Alive After Three Decades
Patricia Kopta, 83, was missing for three decades since her husband, Bob Kopta, reported her missing in the fall of 1992; now, she has been found.
At the time of her husband’s report, Patricia had already been missing for a few months, Bob told authorities that it wasn’t uncommon for his wife to “drop out of sight for short periods.”
Patricia was last seen the summer of 1992 in Pittsburgh: “I [came] home one night and she [was] gone, and nobody knew where she was at,” Bob said at the news conference with Ross Township Police.
Patricia was also known by the name “the sparrow,” under which she walked around Pittsburgh as a street preacher. According to a missing person flier posted by the Pennsylvania Emergency Response Center, she would approach strangers and tell them she had visions of the Virgin Mary, or that the world was coming to an end.
Her husband said Patricia had a history with mental illness, which is why police said her disappearance wasn’t overly suspicious.
“We knew she had a mental health history and she had made statements to other family individuals that she was leaving… she had likely left of her own volition,” Ross Township Police Deputy Chief Brian Kohlhepp said.
Now, 31 years after her disappearance, Patricia has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico.
"We were contacted by an agent from Interpol as well as a social worker from Puerto Rico who believed they had her in an adult care home in Puerto Rico," Kohlhepp said.
Interestingly, Bob said that his wife had always talked about going to Puerto Rico, living in a tropical environment. “I even advertised… down in Puerto Rico looking for her,” he said at the news conference. However, he then added that Patricia had no known family or connections in Puerto Rico.
Those who work at the nursing facility said Patricia was admitted on June 30, 1999 after being found in need of care on the side of a road. However, she refused to share any personal details until years later, after suffering from dementia.
Through a nine-month-long process, Police determined it was the real Patricia by comparing DNA samples provided by her sister, Gloria Smith, and her nephew.
“We really thought she was dead all those years,” Smith said at the news conference.
Smith said that she has called the adult care home several times, but has been unable to hold a conversation with her sister due to her dementia.
“We didn’t expect it. It was a very big shock to see – to know that she’s still alive,” her sister said. “You know, we’re so happy and I hope I can get down to see her.”
BY ANGELA TANG