Thirty years ago a young Florida college student named Erik Patchin disappeared on the drive home. He hasn’t been seen since.
This episode includes a case co-host Katie Kaplan covered in depth for WCTV, the CBS affiliate in Tallahassee, Florida. Listen to exclusive interviews with the family, details from the lead investigator and learn why detectives think this case could still be solved.
Patchin left his girlfriend's apartment near Florida State University around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24, 1994. His car was found later that day in the parking lot of a gas station a few miles away. It was in perfect working condition.
Erik was the oldest of two children and was studying to become a teacher at Tallahassee Community College. His family says he loved art, music and fishing.
Erik's sister, Kelly, was only 8 years old when he vanished. By happenstance, she was the person who spotted his car parked at the foot of a payphone in the parking lot of a gas station around 5:30 p.m. the day he was last seen. Now grown with children of her own, she has never stopped looking for him.
Erik vanished back before cell phones and computers were common. So, a lot of digital data that would be used to track someone's movements today was not available to investigators then.
It was an era when rap was becoming mainstream. Erik liked to test out his rhymes during 'open mic' events at local establishments under the rap name "Domino E." He visited Waterworks, a local bar and lounge, in downtown Tallahassee in the hours before he vanished.
In 2022, new billboards with Erik's face and reward information were erected near the gas station where his car was found in 1994. The intersection is known as "Chaires Crossing" and the area as the "Washington Moore quarters" after the local family who owns land nearby.
Investigators with the Leon County Sheriff's Office are looking for a witness or someone who may have knowledge of what happened to Erik to come forward and help bring his family some peace.
If you have information, you can call the Leon County Sheriff's Office at 850-922-3300, or share it anonymously through Big Bend Crime Stoppers by calling 850-574-TIPS. You may be eligible for the $5,000 cash reward.
At the time of his disappearance, Patchin was 5′10 and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, green khaki shorts, and tan size 10 Dickie’s hiking boots with molded rubber lug soles.
Patchin would often wear a blue bandana or a baseball cap. He has a quarter-sized burn scar on the back of his right hand. His hair was cut in a mullet style at the time of his disappearance, short at the front, top and sides, and long in the back.
Erik Patchin would be 50 years old now. You can follow his story through the family’s Facebook page dedicated to his case.
SOURCES:
https://www.wctv.tv/2023/11/10/unsolved-florida-parked-payphone-erik-patchin-case/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/247623301/?terms=erik%20patchin&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/247268370/?terms=erik%20patchin&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/247500990/?terms=erik%20patchin&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/247266741/?terms=erik%20patchin&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/247623064/?terms=erik%20patchin&match=1
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