A Pittsburgh woman who went missing more than 30 years ago in a case that stumped authorities who later declared her legally dead has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico.
"As she asked and spoke more, she leaked enough details about her identity that they were able to connect enough dots to contact us," Kohlhepp said.
"She would always hang out down in Pittsburgh where things were going on. When there was a baseball game going on, when a concert was going on, she would be talking to people," Bob Kopta said about his wife. Shortly afterward, Kopta began preaching and was briefly institutionalized after doctors diagnosed her with"delusions of grandeur" and said she had signs of schizophrenia. Upon her release, she kept preaching until she vanished in 1992.They had been married for 20 years.
Years went by with no sign of her. He obtained a death declaration about seven years after her disappearance. After a social worker contacted police in Pennsylvania, it took almost a year for DNA samples to confirm that the woman was indeed Patricia Kopta.
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Woman reported missing 31 years ago found in Puerto RicoA Pennsylvania woman who went missing more than 30 years ago in a case that stumped authorities who later declared her legally dead has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico. Patricia Kopta left behind a husband and siblings and meandered through northern Puerto Rico for a while before she was taken as a person “in need” to the adult care home in 1999, according to details announced at a news conference this week in Ross Township, where she once lived. Kopta, once known as a street preacher in her home town, initially kept her past secret while in Puerto Rico.
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Woman reported missing 31 years ago and declared dead has been found alive in Puerto RicoPatricia Kopta, nicknamed 'The Sparrow,' was a model and dance instructor before she vanished in 1992. Here's her story.
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Woman reported missing 31 years ago found in Puerto RicoSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman who went missing more than 30 years ago in a case that stumped authorities who later declared her legally dead has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico.
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