Body Found in Apartment Identified As Oklahoma Woman Missing for Weeks

An Oklahoma mother carrying nothing but "the clothes on her back" who was found dead in an apartment in May has been identified by a tattoo, according to police.

Melissa Patton, 52, was last seen near a Starbucks in the Rock Knoll area in the west of Oklahoma City on May 27. Patton's family told NBC affiliate KFOR that she had been out looking for jobs when she went missing.

At the time of her disappearance, Patton was described as a 5-foot-3-inch woman who weighed around 125 pounds and had a small tattoo on her left wrist.

Amanda Hilton, Patton's daughter, previously told the network: "[She had] no ID, no phone, no car, no money. She has nothing [but] the clothes on her back."

The Oklahoma City Police Department shared a photo of the tattoo on its Facebook page on June 20.

Police said it was posted to identify a woman who was found inside an apartment in the 8500-hundred block of Candlewood Drive on May 31.

The tattoo featured the, presumed, date 6-8-15 as well as a chain with a broken link in the middle under the numbers. Friends and family recognized the tattoo and notified police who ended their search for Patton. The significance of the date and chain has not yet been released.

In another Facebook post shared later on June 20, Oklahoma police said: "Thanks for all of your help, this person has been identified."

According to a police incident report seen by Newsweek, the attending officer who was alerted at around 6:30 p.m. to a possible overdose at the property, found Patton laying unresponsive and administered one dose of Narcan, a medication used to reduce or reverse the effects of opioids.

When the officer went to feel Patton's pulse, she was cold and was pronounced dead at 6:41 p.m.

The cause of death has not been announced by police.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS), said there are 666 open missing persons cases and 2,014 resolved missing persons cases in Oklahoma.

It added there were 115 open unidentified person cases and 168 resolved unidentified person cases in the state.

Across the U.S., there are 23,287 open missing persons cases as well as 34,387 resolved missing persons cases.

NamUS said: "Between 2007 and 2020, an average of 664,776 missing person records annually were entered into the National Crime Information Center."

Newsweek has contacted the Oklahoma City Police Department for comment via email.

There are numerous cases where the remains of women who have been missing, sometimes for years, have been discovered, confirming their deaths.

In May, the remains of a Canadian woman who had been missing for 12 years were found at a rural property.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) identified the remains found in Vanderhoof, in central British Columbia, were those of Madison "Maddy" Scott, who was last seen at a birthday celebration near a lake in 2011.

Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said: "We can confirm that the property is associated to the discovery of Maddy who has been positively identified by BC Coroner's Service. The Scott family has been advised and they have asked for privacy at this time. Many areas of support remain in place for the family.

"This has been a priority investigation for the RCMP over the past 12 years. The discovery of Maddy is a significant development, however, this investigation remains an active and ongoing missing person's investigation where foul play has not been ruled out."

Update 06/21/2023 11:01 ET: This article was updated to include information from the Oklahoma City police report.