S4 Ep1: She never made it to school

After more than 20 years of turning us down, the Milwaukee Police finally release more than 10,000 pages of records on their investigation of Alexis’ case. Some of the contents are completely unexpected.

After a three-year delay in reporting due to the pandemic, we ask the experts to evaluate the DNA profiles of Alexis' mother and the woman in Ohio to figure out, once and for all, whether the two are related.

Two reporters travel to Ohio to see if they can get to the bottom of the claims that a young woman there is Alexis Patterson.

Fourteen years after Alexis disappeared, a man from Ohio comes forward to say he believes his estranged wife might be the missing girl.

Some witnesses say they saw a red truck outside Alexis' school around the time she vanished. Could it have belonged to a serial killer?

Police come up with the theory that Alexis ran away after her mom tells them about an argument over cupcakes.

Alexis’ stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, has a troubled history with police. That is enough to raise their suspicions after she disappears.

Despite Milwaukee’s history of segregation and distrust between Black residents and police, the whole city comes together to search for 7-year-old Alexis Patterson, who disappeared somewhere in the 242 steps between her home and school.

Alexis Patterson’s walk home from school was just 242 steps. But on May 3, 2002, the 7-year-old never made it. The story of Alexis’ disappearance started with a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday.  

I’m working on a new investigation about missing children of color, and one of them is going to be the focus of Season 4.