William Patterson, a 52-year-old businessman from El Paso, and his wife Margaret were last seen on March 5, 1957. Their home was left in disarray and basic services — mail, newspaper and utilities — were not stopped; the couple’s cat Tommy was also left behind. William ran a photography supply business and the pair were known in the community.

Ten days after they vanished a telegram dated March 15, 1957, purportedly from William was sent from Dallas instructing his accountant to manage the business and rent the house. The telegram attracted suspicion because it was sent by phone and the middle initial in the signature was incorrect. Decades later an associate, Reynaldo Nangaray, said he found blood and a piece of human scalp in William’s garage after the disappearance; that claim has not been fully verified. Sightings in Mexico were reported but never confirmed and the couple was declared legally dead in 1964.

What local details or leads from the 1950s might help explain the discrepancies in the telegram and Nangaray’s account?