He Vanished While Taking The Trash Out With His Foster Mom
It’s been over 15 years since 7-year-old Patrick Alford vanished in Brooklyn, New York, while taking the trash out with his foster mother, and his whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.
At the time, Patrick and his younger sister, Jayleen, had recently begun residing with Librada Moran, their foster mom, in Spring Creek Towers, located at 130 Vandalia Avenue. They’d been placed in foster care following Christmas in 2009 after their mother, Jennifer Rodriguez, contacted social services for help.
According to Jennifer, she was struggling with her mental health and substance use, so she reached out to obtain drug treatment. This caused Patrick and Jayleen to be removed from their Staten Island home and put into foster care.
“That was the worst thing I could have ever done. I wasn’t in the right mental state, so I turned to the people I thought could help, and it backfired on me. I live with that guilt,” she said.
It was the evening of January 22, 2010, when Patrick disappeared. He and Librada exited their 11th-floor apartment to take garbage to the trash chute at 9:00 p.m. Then, Librada reportedly got distracted by a phone call and went back inside to answer it.
By the time Patrick’s foster mother returned, he was gone. A video posted in 2020 by Omni Present Investigations, a Rockville Centre-based private investigator, claims the 7-year-old walked down the apartment building hallway by himself.
Patrick’s sister also allegedly saw him walk away and called out his name but received no response. Next, he was allegedly spotted by a neighbor on the 16th floor. After that, he was never seen again and has remained missing ever since.
In the wake of his disappearance, a massive investigation was launched. The police conducted 14,000 interviews, searched 9,000 apartments, and followed up on countless tips.
“It was a massive hunt, a massive investigation. We’ve been working on this for 15 years, so you can imagine the work we’ve done,” detailed lead Detective Ezequiel Burgos of the New York Police Department’s Missing Person Unit.
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Initially, investigators suspected that Jennifer might’ve been involved. However, she was extensively questioned and passed a polygraph examination.
A supervised visit in January 2010 marked the last time Jennifer saw her son. Patrick’s aunt, Blanca Toledo, was there as well and thought Patrick appeared “distraught.”
“He was throwing a chair, and he wouldn’t look at me. ‘I want to come home, mommy,’ he said,” Jennifer recalled.
“His spirit was broken. Patrick was distraught,” Blanca added.
While speaking with her children’s foster mother, Librada, Jennifer learned that she spoke little English. This was shocking for Jennifer, as her kids did not speak Spanish.
Librada reportedly told the police that Patrick had attempted to run away in the past to be with his mom. With the help of canines, authorities were able to trace his scent to a bus stop near Spring Creek Towers.
Jennifer and Patrick’s father, who lived separately, took New York City and the foster care system to federal court. This resulted in a $6 million trust fund being set up to help Patrick if he was found.
Patrick’s father was later shot in the head and leg during a robbery in East New York. He underwent years of therapy to begin to walk again, but tragedy struck further when he was run over while in his wheelchair. Jennifer says he is alive yet struggling.
She pursued an associate degree in criminal justice after her son disappeared. Jennifer believes the police spent too much time focusing on family members as suspects and thinks Patrick might’ve been abducted as he tried to return to Staten Island.
Still, exactly what happened to Patrick remains a mystery. Part of his trust fund, specifically $250,000, has been set aside as reward money for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to his whereabouts. No one has spoken up.
“I wasn’t doing well for a long time. Then I finally thought, ‘Why do I keep punishing myself for something I didn’t do?’ I’m still trying to figure out why, with all the resources they used, no one has come forward. I just pray that Patrick’s alive. That’s what keeps me going,” Jennifer explained.
Patrick is remembered as a caring and funny young boy who loved Spider-Man and video games. At the time he went missing, he was four foot eight, weighed 65 pounds, and had brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a red T-shirt, and blue and black Jordan sneakers.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has released an age-progressed photo showing what Patrick may look like at 22 years old. Anyone with information regarding his case is urged to contact the New York City police at 1-800-577-8477.
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