A woman reported missing out of Ross Township in 1992 has been found alive, according to police.
Patricia Kopta, now 83-years-old, was located in a care home in Puerto Rico. Social workers there contacted Ross Township Police last year, saying Kopta had been in their care since 1999. She revealed very little about her previous life in the Pittsburgh area until recently.
"However, as she aged and spoke more, she eventually leaked enough details about her identity that they were able to connect enough dots to contact us," said Ross Township Deputy Chief of Police Brian Kohlhepp.
DNA samples from Kopta matched those of her sister, Gloria Smith, and nephew. She remains in the home and is suffering from dementia.
Patricia Kopta, now 83-years-old, was located at a care home in Puerto Rico.Ross Township Police
Still, Smith says it brings closure to their family after decades of questions.
"We're very thankful to know that Patty's alive and well," she said in a news conference Thursday. "She's being well taken care of. We really thought she was dead all those years. It was a very big shock to know that she's still alive."
While living in Pittsburgh, Kopta was a well-known street preacher and was commonly referred to as "The Sparrow." She was often seen outside of Pittsburgh events like baseball games or concerts preaching about the end of the world.
Family said she had a history of mental illness. In one particular incident shortly before her disappearance, Kopta was picked up by police in Monroeville walking through traffic, according to her husband Robert Kopta. He says he took her to a local hospital for help. Though his wife received medication, she wouldn't take it and eventually expressed concern she would be institutionalized or that someone was after her.
"I came home one night and she was gone," he recalled. "Nobody knew where she was at."
Smith says her sister told another sibling that she was leaving and would never be found.
Police say they always believed Patricia Kopta left on her own.
Her family hopes to eventually visit her in Puerto Rico. Caretakers there have told them she can't speak on the phone because of her condition.
"It's been sad," Robert Kopta said. "Especially when it first happened, every time someone would find a body somewhere, was it Patricia? Was it Patricia? It's been going on for almost 31 years. It's been bad."
He says he filed to declare her legally dead years ago. Though there is more closure for the family, it's clear heartbreak remains.
"I think about it, and in a way I try to wipe my hands from it because that's what she wanted, I guess," Robert Kopta said. "I don't understand. She just walked away."
