News

Actions

"I wanted to know:" Ohio man thinks his ex-wife is Alexis Patterson

Posted at 1:23 PM, Jul 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-12 14:40:41-04

Josh married his wife in 2009, when Alexis Patterson would have been just 14 years old. Now that woman is at the center of an investigation connected to the missing Milwaukee girl.
?
"I didn't even speak to the mother until there were three things not just what everybody else could have. Anyone could have a scar under their eye, and anyone could have a bump on their hand...but those two and the birth mark, then you put pictures together, the resemblance...I don't know." said Josh.
?
In a phone conversation, the Ohio man tells TODAY'S TMJ4's Shannon Sims he contacted police last month after discovering Alexis Patterson's picture on the internet.

"If this was my chance to find out who my ex-wife and her family really was, I had to take this chance. I wanted to know for years."
?
Josh says he took a huge leap of faith and traveled to Milwaukee with his son, where he met Ayana Patterson, Alexis Patterson's mother. He believes she is his child's grandmother.

"Like he knew her his whole life, and the kids his whole life, like it was meant to be. My son has never been happier in the six years he has been alive."

Bryan, Ohio police confirm they interviewed Josh's ex-wife -- and took a DNA sample.
?
The woman, who denies she is Alexis Patterson, provided documents -- including a passport and green card --that indicate she was born in Belize. Now it all comes down to the DNA test results.
?
"We have our own kit that we know has not been tampered with and we have the other kit. We hope they both come back with the exact same answer."