NC Wanted: Authorities search for new leads in Jenny Patterson case

Jenny Patterson has been missing so long that the the neighborhood she lived in is gone. She used to live in a old trailer park off Bragg Boulevard. Authorities said Jenny told her mother she was going to visit a friend on June 23, 1991. That was the last time anyone saw her.

Authorities conducted a massive search. In the first few days, Jenny's estranged parents, Alan and Ginger, were seen as innocent, grieving victims. Then there was word of a paternity test to determine if Alan Patterson would owe tens of thousands in back alimony. The test never happened because Jenny disappeared days before it was scheduled.

The original flyer declaring Jenny missing, along with the original investigator notes, are all in a box.

"[That's] something that we constantly have looming over our heads, the fact that she's still out there and she's still missing, so it's never left anyone's thoughts," said Sgt. Tamara Hassler, Chief of Detectives. "This box is something that sits next to my desk at all times since I've been up here."

Detectives said they were encouraged when they heard about new leads in Buddy Myers case. Discouraged when they think about how few leads are coming in on Jenny Patterson, who is now 19 if she is still alive.

"We'll never give up until she's found," Hassler said.

Jenny's father now lives in Statesville, N.C. Her mother lives in Kentucky. Neither could be reached for comment. Anyone with information on Jenny's disappearance is asked to call Spring Lake police or the NC Wanted hotline at 1-866-43-2683.