Christmas Mysteries 5: Disappearance

I think as we go down the mysterious Christmas lane, we find weirder and weirder things!

People just poof! disappear and without a trace. Wait, without a tangible trace. And sometimes there are suspects bit just not enough evidence or no evidence at all to tie them down and you can't arrest a person based on a hunch now, can you?

So this lady apparently disappeared, leaving lots of questions behind and the main suspect happens to be her ex husband and yes there seems to be fowl play because he was the last to see her alive and then the discovery in her bedroom...?? Arrest the ex husband please. tch.

The Disappearance Of Patty Vaughan

On Christmas Day, 1996, 32-year-old Patty Vaughan left her home in La Vernia, Texas and never returned.

So, Patty and her then husband, known as Jerry Ray (J.R) had begun a trial seperation in October of 1996 after which he moved into another apartment in San Antonio, Texas and Patty remained at their old residence in La Vernia, Old Park Road. They had been married since 1985 and had three children.

After the seperation in October, Patty began dating another man in December 1996 and this apparently got J.R jealous when he found out about the relationship on December 13th and he had gotten into an argument with her in her place of residence on December 25, 1996. After which Patty disappeared from the house between 6:00pm and 8:00pm and has never been seen again.

Of course J.R told the authorities that Patty and left the house on December 25 alone and simply disappeared. J.R was confirmed to be the last person to see her.

On December 26, Patty's light blue 1991 Dodge Caravan with Texas license plates was found 25 kilometers (15 miles) away the following day, abandoned with a flat tire, one day after she was last seen. Tests were carried out, which revealed that the tire had been intentionally deflated. There were traces of blood in the van as well as a pile of men's clothing when it was located. One of the clothing items was a red workman's jumpsuit, something an auto mechanic or plumber might wear. The jumpsuit had an emblem with the letters JM on the back.

J.R filed for divorce from his wife on December 26, just one day after Patty was last seen.

Traces of blood were found in Patty’s bedroom and on a mop inside her residence, someone had attempted to clean the blood from the house prior to discovery, and the van's carpet had been shampooed recently and was still wet. DNA testing proved that the blood was Patty's.

Patty's mother, Patsy Wallace, was charged with burglarizing J.R.'s residence and assaulting him with a baseball bat in February 1997, two months after her daughter disappeared. She said she thought he was involved in her daughter's disappearance. Nevertheless, there was no evidence to implicate him in Patty’s disappearance, and he took custody of their children and left the state.

J.R. had Patty declared legally dead in 2005. Shortly afterward, Wallace filed a civil wrongful death suit against him. The outcome of the suit is unknown.

However, during the time Patty went missing, J.R. was working construction on a school in the nearby town of Natalia. Investigators looking for evidence in her case examined the foundation of the Natalia, Texas school that J.R. had helped build.

Authorities have not discounted the possibility that Patty’s remains might be encased in the concrete foundation and that multiple people were involved in the disposal of her body. In December 2008, investigators announced they may be close to solving Patty's case. They stated three friends of the Vaughans are now the focus of the investigation. J.R. is still the primary suspect in Patty's disappearance, but police believe the three family friends may have helped dispose of her body. None of these individuals have been identified.

Years later, DNA testing was performed on items found in Patty’s van. The DNA was determined to be female, but did not belong to Patty Vaughan, adding further intrigue to this unsolved case.

J.R. now resides in Colorado with the three children he had with Patty. He maintains his innocence in her case and stated he believed she had left him deliberately. Foul play is suspected in Patty's disappearance due to the circumstances involved. She has never been located and no arrests have been made in connection with her case. Patty's case remains unsolved. Her family held a memorial service for her on the tenth anniversary of her disappearance.

And the foundation of the school would be an excellent hiding place. I mean the body could be there for years and I don't think the authorities can tear down a school to search the foundation for a body that may or may not be there....

Stranger things are really happening.