Patricia Patty Wagner was 26 and a single mother of two young boys when she vanished from Jersey City, New Jersey, after a coffee date on the evening of October 20, 1972. She left her children in her mother’s care and reassured her oldest son she would return; she never did. Her family reported her missing the next day when she failed to come home.

Patricia left all her personal belongings behind, and her family rejected an early theory that she had left voluntarily with the man known as Dennis. Dennis disappeared around the same time and did not collect his last paycheck; he also had a reputation for violence, which led the family to suspect foul play. The case went cold for decades.

In 2020 Patricia’s cousin located and identified the man known as Dennis living in Florida, but he refused to cooperate with investigators or speak with the family. The New Jersey State Police have not confirmed whether this is the same man. Patricia’s disappearance remains unsolved.

If anyone knew Patricia, Dennis, or the men she spent time with in Jersey City in 1972, please share what might help her family find answers.