Katharina Buczek
A letter was also sent, which asked that his properties be distributed among three different people. They included William’s employee, Art Moreno, his business auditor, Herb Roth, and his friend, Doyle Kirkland.
Sergeant Jim Belknap with the El Paso Sheriff’s Department reportedly found the letter suspicious– mainly because William still had a father and sister who were alive, as well as numerous other close friends in El Paso. So, Sgt. Belknap believed there were other more likely candidates for William’s will.
Theories Regarding The Couple’s Disappearance
To this day, exactly what happened to William and Margaret Patterson has never been uncovered. But, with the various shreds of suspicious evidence, many theories have popped up about the couple’s disappearance.
A popular theory alleges that the Pattersons were actually spies.
“The way they got up and just walked away and left everything behind– the Russians, or whoever sent them, probably told them to drop everything and go back,” county sheriff Leo Samaniego told the El Paso Times in 2005.
“Some people said they had seen William take photographs of Fort Bliss and of military shipments on the trains that came here.”
It is important to note, though, that there is no substantial evidence indicating that William or Margaret was actually involved in these activities.
So, other theories also entered the limelight. Some believe that one of the spouses murdered the other before fleeing and starting a new life. This theory spawned since there was reportedly tension in the couple’s marriage– stemming from William’s alleged affair and Margaret’s reported proclivity for heavy drinking.
Finally, others believe that the couple never actually left their primary residence– falling victim to foul play and remaining concealed somewhere on the property.
This theory ultimately inspired ghost stories in El Paso, with some neighborhood children even attempting to search for ghosts in the couple’s home.
