Police shut down mobile unit in park near Alexis' home in
favor of station

By JAMES H. BURNETT III
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: June 10, 2002

A constant presence for more than five weeks in Washington Park, the
Milwaukee Police Department's mobile command unit was packed up and
driven away Monday as police shifted their Alexis Patterson task force to a
north side station house.

Alexis, a 7-year-old student at Hi-Mount
Community School, disappeared the morning of
May 3 while walking to the school at 4921 W.
Garfield Ave. from her home about a half block
away.

Within a day of her disappearance, Police Chief
Arthur Jones had the mobile command unit, a
hybrid RV complete with high-tech
communications equipment, posted in a parking lot
at Washington Park, near N. 39th St. and W.
Lisbon Ave.

Thirty-six patrol officers, 23 detectives and
several supervisors worked around the clock from
the command post, about 10 blocks from Alexis'
home, establishing searches and patterns,
collecting tips and filing and analyzing search
results.

Moving the operation to the Third District station
at N. 49th St. and W. Lisbon Ave. - about a block
from Alexis' home - doesn't mean the search is
being scaled back, police said Monday.

"It's been a little over five weeks; we have not
diminished our efforts," Capt. Brian O'Keefe told
reporters Monday afternoon.

The case file has grown to several thousand
pages, O'Keefe said, and supervisors thought the
data could be better analyzed with the tools at the
spacious data/communication center at the Third
District police station.

On Monday, police also released a 15-second
surveillance video from the Jewel-Osco store at
N. 35 St. and W. North Ave. The tape, recorded
the evening before Alexis disappeared, shows her
mother, Ayanna Bourgeois, pushing a grocery cart
with Alexis and her stepbrother following close
behind.

The jacket Alexis is wearing in the video is the
same she had on on May 3, O'Keefe said. Earlier
Monday, Deputy Police Chief Leslie Barber said
investigators hoped a moving image of Alexis
might help people determine whether they have
seen her.

In the surveillance video, the trio are shopping for cupcakes, police said, the
same treats authorities say were later withheld by Alexis' parents for
disciplinary reasons. She had been counting on taking them to school the day
she disappeared.

The release of the surveillance video came three days after police
subpoenaed local television stations for their videotapes of coverage of Alexis'
disappearance.

O'Keefe said Monday that police had begun reviewing tapes from the TV
stations that have responded to the subpoenas.

or

the FBI page for her at
http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/kidnap/patterson.htm

and

two other webpages that include missing children information
http://www.operationlookout.org/
and
http://www.safenetwork.org/

For the record, I did call LONG ago to let them know I was willing to set up a forum for this child. I spoke to a cousin of the missing child who told me people at the NAACP were in charge of all this. I left my number and no one called back.

The offer still holds. If they need a place for a forum, they can join us.

7-Year-Old Disappeared May 3

POSTED: 7:41 a.m. CDT August 12, 2002
UPDATED: 6:19 p.m. CDT August 12, 2002

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Police dive team began searching the
Milwaukee River around Estabrook Park at 8:30 a.m. Monday for Alexis
Patterson.

It was acting on an anonymous tip that
a local television station received
Sunday.

The river is 2-to 10-feet deep in that
area.

The 7-year-old girl vanished from her
Washington Heights neighborhood May
3.

Her stepfather said he last saw her when he dropped her off at Hi-Mount
Boulevard school, less than a block from her home.

Since she disappeared, volunteers have canvassed and recanvassed
Alexis' north side neighborhood looking for any clues.

Volunteers said that they are relieved divers are combing the area, but
the head of Operation L.A.P. (locate Alexis Patterson) said he doesn't
think Alexis is in the river.

"It's a tip that's got to be followed up on. It's one of the areas ... when
we originally went into this, our plan was to search the entire Milwaukee
County. That's a lot of ground. We've searched a lot of it, but this is one
area that hasn't been cleared and we've got to clear it. said John
Robins-Wells of Operation L.A.P.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's
Department, along with Milwaukee police
previously searched bodies of water in
the Milwaukee area, with no sign of the
little girl.

Alexis' Description:

3 feet 8 inches tall, 42 pounds
Last seen wearing a red hooded
jacket with a gray stripe down the
sleeve
Had two French braids pulled back into a ponytail
Had on white Nike shoes, a light-purple blouse and blue jeans
Carrying a pink Barbie doll book bag

If anyone has information on Alexis' disappearance, he or she is asked to
call the Milwaukee Police Department or the Milwaukee County Sheriff's
Department at (414) 935-7401 or (414) 935-7302.

http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/news/1607122/detail.html?subid=22100414

POSTED: 2:19 p.m. EDT September 10, 2002
UPDATED: 8:44 p.m. EDT September 10, 2002

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones said 7-year-old girl who disappeared from her
Milwaukee neighborhood more than four months ago may never be found alive

He said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that new
information still comes into his department about Alexis Patterson,
who has been missing since May 3.

"Every day there's something new, but it's more nuances than
something that's going to give us some real direction. Obviously we
follow up on every lead. We have some theories. But after having
said all of that, there's nothing new," Jones said.

Jones said the open case is frustrating, because he wants to keep
hoping that Alexis is alive and someone is caring for her, but he
said experience tells him that's probably not what happened.

Jones said he agrees with people who say Alexis' disappearance hasn't received as much attention as that
of several white girls who've been missing this summer across the country.

Alexis' Description:

3 feet 8 inches tall, 42 pounds
Last seen wearing a red hooded jacket with a gray stripe down the sleeve
Had two French braids pulled back into a ponytail
Had on white Nike shoes, a light-purple blouse and blue jeans
Carrying a pink Barbie doll book bag

If anyone has information on Alexis' disappearance, he or she is asked to call the Milwaukee Police
Department or the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department at (414) 935-7401 or (414) 935-7302.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/1659682/detail.html

Case Type :Endangered Missing
Birthdate :April -04-1995 Age :7 years
Height : 3' 8" - 112 cm
Weight : 42 lbs - 19 kg Eyes :Brown Hair : Black

Circumstances : Both photos are of Alexis. *(View second photo at web site: www.missingkids.com Alexis, Wisconsin) She was last seen on May 3, 2002 when she was dropped off for school. She was wearing a red hooded jacket with gray stripes, a purple shirt, blue jeans and white Nike tennis shoes. She has a scar under her right eye and bump on her left pinky finger.

Date Missing : May-03-2002
State of Report: MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin USA

NCMEC Case Number :934881

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee Police Department (Wisconsin)
1-414-935-7401