- UPDATE: Ohio Woman Says She is Not Alexis Patterson
"I would call it a miracle." "It would be astounding." "Wow, just overwhelming."
Those are just some of the reactions from neighbors and friends of Alexis Patterson, the 7-year-old Milwaukee girl who went missing in May 2002.
Milwaukee police confirmed late Friday investigators are tracking a new lead in the missing person case of Alexis Patterson, who has not been seen in 14 years.
Officers are responding to a tip from a man in Ohio, according to a department spokesperson. That man believes a woman he knows could be the 7-year-old girl who vanished from Milwaukee's west side.
"This community has kept Alexis' memory alive," neighbor Addie Smith said. Since [the day she went missing] I have prayed that she was alive and well."
Patterson's house near 49th and Garfield is now a vacant lot, but Smith still lives next door. She remembers Alexis for her smile and energy.
"She was just a child - a child like my grandchild," Smith said. "She was carefree, young and liked to play."
