Overview of Patricia Meehan
There have been over 5,000 reported sightings of Patricia, but no solid leads.
Patricia Meehan was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1951. She attended college for early childhood development, with hopes of eventually being able to work in childcare. In 1985, she abandoned that track and decided to move to Bozeman, Montana, to work as a ranch hand, citing her love of animals as the reason for the career change.
Days prior to her disappearance, Patricia was reportedly experiencing symptoms of depression and had made an appointment to see a psychiatrist on April 21st.
If she had a psychiatrist's appointment in town, why was she 380 miles away?
On the evening of April 20th, 1989, Patricia was seen driving on the wrong side of the highway. She collided head-on with a driver, who was unharmed.
Bizarrely, Patricia got out of her car and approached a witness that was sitting and waiting for police to arrive. Patricia simply stared at her and did not say anything. The woman then saw Patricia calmly walk over to a fence, scale it, and stand motionless, observing the accident scene. She then calmly walked away into an abandoned field. Police tracked her footprints for 3/4 of a mile before her tracks disappeared.
Days later, reports of a strange woman bearing Patricia's resemblance began to crop up over the Midwest.
These reports all shared a common thread, a woman matching Patricia's appearance, seen at diners or truck stops, for upwards of 5-12 hours at a time, sitting and drinking water or coffee alone. She was reportedly also talking or laughing to herself and would not give a straight answer when asked about her name or where she was from. She would seem disoriented, and would sometimes be asking for directions or a phone.
Police theorize that after the crash, she developed amnesia, and was hitchhiking over the country with truck drivers. This would explain her presence at truck stops and diners. Police also theorized that she was afraid that she had seriously injured or killed the passenger in the crash, and that she was trying to evade jail time.