Key facts
- Name: Patsy Delois Destelia Ridens Clark
- Born: May 20, 1931
- Age at disappearance: 55
- Last seen: March 4, 1987 — seen by her ex-husband getting into a taxi (reported as yellow cab #289) in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Location: Little Rock, Arkansas — said to be en route to Fayetteville; never arrived
- Height / build: 5’0″–5’3″, 165–180 lbs; graying brown hair, green eyes; scars on her forehead and across the bridge of her nose; history of fractured pelvis and lower left leg; Cesarean scar
- Status: Still missing — 39 years; declared legally dead five years after vanishing; case unsolved
- Case numbers: NamUs MP1648; LRPD case #416268; Doe Network 2879DFAR
- Investigating agency: Little Rock Police Department — 501-371-4636 (Cold Case Division)
The taxi that left no record
On March 4, 1987, Patsy Clark’s ex-husband watched her get into a taxi in Little Rock, Arkansas.
They were divorced but still lived together. According to him, Patsy was traveling to Fayetteville to see their son. She got into the cab — one account specifies yellow cab #289 — and rode away.
She never arrived in Fayetteville. There was never any record of any cab fare. No bus company that knew her by name — and the bus companies knew her; Patsy traveled by bus and cab constantly, loved to travel alone, loved Texas, Oklahoma, Memphis — had seen her. She had simply stepped into a taxi on a March morning and vanished off the face of the earth.
Her son, David Clark, has spent decades on what happened next. He doesn’t believe the official shrug. His mother, he says, endured domestic violence for much of her life — and her disappearance, he believes, was suspicious. The detail he returns to, the one that won’t let him go: Patsy’s monthly Social Security checks were her only source of income. She never collected them again.
Except — and this is the detail that turns the case strange — her checks for April and May of 1987 were somehow cashed, after she was already missing.
Who Patsy was
Patsy Delois Clark was 55 in 1987, a mother of six children, a woman who loved to travel alone. Memphis, Hot Springs, Oklahoma, Texas — she went where she wanted, often unannounced, riding buses and cabs, known by name to the bus companies. She was, by her son’s account, a survivor of long-term domestic violence who had built a life of stubborn independence anyway.
Five years after she disappeared, she was declared legally dead. The declaration changed nothing for David Clark. He hired a private investigation agency — La Marr Investigations — and has worked the case himself for decades: podcasts, forensic artists, cold-case detectives. “Though she is still missing,” her family’s page reads, “the search goes on until we bring her home.”
In March 2016, KATV ran the story: “29 years & still searching: Son tries to solve mother’s mystery disappearance.” In October 2023, the Unfound podcast devoted episode 381 to her. A forensic artist, Diana Trepkov, interviewed David about his missing mother for her own podcast. The case has outlived the century it started in.
The cashed checks
Come back to the checks, because they are the whole case in miniature.
Patsy Clark’s Social Security checks were her only income. After March 4, 1987, she never collected them — except that the April and May checks were cashed. Someone cashed the checks of a woman who had vanished.
That single fact does more work than anything else in the file. It means one of two things: Patsy was alive in April and May of 1987 and cashing her own checks somewhere — or someone else was cashing them. Either answer would crack the case. Neither has ever been established publicly.
The Little Rock Police Department’s Cold Case Division still carries the file — case #416268. Detectives Glen King and Bruce Murphy have been named as contacts. The family asks anyone with information to call 501-404-3127 or the department’s main line.
Theories: what might have happened
Foul play by someone close to her. This is her son’s belief, and the domestic-violence history he describes gives it weight. What supports it: the missing woman, the cashed checks suggesting someone had access to her identity or accounts, the ex-husband as the last reported witness — the only person who says he saw her get into the taxi. What is unproven: no evidence of a crime was ever found, authorities have stated they found no indication of foul play, and the ex-husband has never been charged with anything. Presumption of innocence applies fully.
She started a new life — briefly. The cashed April and May checks could mean Patsy was alive and cashing them herself for two months after March 4. A woman who loved to travel alone, with no fixed plans, might have gone somewhere and lived quietly. What undercuts it: 39 years of silence toward six children, and checks that stopped just as mysteriously as she did.
An accident or misadventure on the road. A 55-year-old woman traveling alone by bus and cab in 1987 — an accident, a medical event, an unidentified Jane Doe in a county morgue somewhere between Little Rock and Fayetteville. What supports considering it: no body was ever identified as Patsy’s, but unidentified remains from that era were not always well-catalogued. What undercuts it: the cashed checks, which don’t fit a woman dead in March.
Have information?
Contact the Little Rock Police Department Cold Case Division at 501-371-4636 (case #416268; also 501-404-3127), La Marr Investigations at 501-786-2839, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- May 20, 1931 — Patsy Delois Clark is born.
- March 4, 1987 — Patsy’s ex-husband sees her get into a taxi (reported as yellow cab #289) in Little Rock; she is said to be traveling to Fayetteville to see their son. She never arrives. No cab fare is ever recorded.
- April–May 1987 — Patsy’s Social Security checks — her only income, never otherwise collected after her disappearance — are somehow cashed.
- 1992 — Patsy is declared legally dead, five years after vanishing.
- 1992–2026 — Her son David Clark advocates for the case: private investigators, media, podcasts. The LRPD Cold Case Division keeps the file (case #416268).
- March 2016 — KATV: “29 years & still searching.”
- October 2023 — Unfound podcast, episode 381: “Patsy Delois Clark.”
- Today — Still missing, 39 years on. She would be 95.
FAQ
Is Patsy Clark still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Patsy Clark has been missing for 39 years. She was declared legally dead in 1992, but she was never found and her case remains unsolved.
Was Patsy Clark ever found?
No. No trace of Patsy has ever been located.
What happened to Patsy Clark’s Social Security checks?
Her monthly Social Security checks were her only source of income, and she never collected them after March 1987 — except that the April and May 1987 checks were somehow cashed. Who cashed them has never been publicly established.
Who saw Patsy Clark last?
Her ex-husband, who said he watched her get into a taxi in Little Rock on March 4, 1987. They were divorced but still lived together. He has never been charged in connection with her disappearance.
How old would Patsy Clark be today?
Patsy was born May 20, 1931 — she turned 95 in May 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information can contact the Little Rock Police Department Cold Case Division at 501-371-4636 (case #416268) or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Little Rock Police Department, Cold Case Division (501-371-4636; case #416268); NamUs MP1648; The Doe Network, “2879DFAR – Patsy Delois Clark.”
- News: KATV, “29 years & still searching: Son tries to solve mother’s mystery disappearance” (Mar 2016).
- Reference: The Charley Project, “Patsy Delois Destelia Ridens Clark” (charleyproject.org); Uncovered.com; CUE Center for Missing Persons (ncmissingpersons.org); lostnmissing.org.
- Media: Unfound podcast, episode 381, “Patsy Delois Clark: The One and Only” (Oct 2023); forensic artist Diana Trepkov podcast interview with David Clark; canihelpfindyourmissinglovedone.com (family page).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.