Patricia M. Laemmerhirt

• Missing Since 04/03/1976
• Missing From Westfield, New York
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 27 years old
• Height and Weight 5'1, 110 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Black hair, brown eyes. Patricia wears eyeglasses. Her maiden name is Sam.

Details of Disappearance

Patricia was last seen in Westfield, New York on April 3, 1976. She lived with her husband, Ernest Laemmerhirt Jr., on north Portage Street.

In March that year, Patricia told her brother she was having marital problems, and he took her to stay with their mother in Westkirk, New York. She later returned to live with Ernest in Westfield, however.

On April 5, Ernest called Patricia's brother to ask if he'd seen her. He said Patricia had left two days before. She has never been heard from again.

Patricia's brother was suspicious of Ernest's story and broke into the Laemmerhirt residence to look for clues. All her belongings were gone, including her clothes. Ernest reported his wife missing, saying he thought she might have gone to Chicago, Illinois. There was no evidence of a crime and police had little to go on.

Ernest eventually moved away from the residence. In 1993, investigators searched the Laemmerhirts' former home for Patricia's body, digging up the backyard, the basement floor and a concrete addition to the house. Her brother got permission for the dig from the home's new owners and paid for the search. Nothing was located.

Although there is no evidence of a crime in Patricia's case and no one has been named as a suspect in her disappearance, her brother is convinced she met with foul play. He described her as "a little slow" and said he didn't think she could have survived if she left on her own.

Patricia is a 1968 graduate of Dunkirk High School. She left behind two young children. Her case remains unsolved.