In the heart of downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, on the evening of September 30, 1984, a young, 18-year-old mother named Patricia May Favel vanished. Known affectionately as 'Patsy,' she was a member of the Kawacatoose First Nation. At the time she went missing, she was a mother to a baby boy, Cody, who had just celebrated his first birthday four days earlier. Patricia was last seen around 10:30 p.m. near the corner of 12th Avenue and Osler Street.
Eyewitness accounts, including from her brother Gary, state she was seen getting into a small red or orange Japanese-made car, possibly a two-door Toyota or Datsun, driven by a man. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, grey boots, and a white blouse. Standing between 5'5' and 5'8' and weighing around 100 pounds, Patricia had curly black hair that she had dyed blonde, brown eyes, and a tattoo on her right thumb.
The night Patricia disappeared, her family grew immediately concerned when she did not return home. It was highly uncharacteristic of her to stay out all night, especially without informing anyone or leaving her young son. Her family attempted to report her missing to the Regina Police Service the very next day, on October 1, 1984, but were told they had to wait 72 hours before a report could be officially filed. In the agonizing days that followed, her mother, Alice, and other family members took it upon themselves to search for her, combing through abandoned alleys and garbage cans in a desperate attempt to find any trace of their beloved Patsy. At the time of her disappearance, Patricia was living with her mother and her son. She was known to be a friendly and curious young woman who loved to read, but she had also been struggling with drug addiction and was involved in the sex trade to support her habit. Her brother was watching out for her on the night she vanished because there had been recent attacks on sex-trade workers in the area. He recalled her saying, 'I know this guy, I'll be back,' as she got into the car.
Over the decades, the investigation into Patricia Favel's disappearance has remained open but has yielded no arrests or charges. It stands as the longest-recorded unsolved case of a missing female in the history of Regina. Early in the investigation, there were several leads, including a tip from another woman who said she was approached by an Asian man in a similar car just before Patricia was picked up. There were also street rumors that Patricia may have been mistaken for another person and was targeted as part of a dispute over drugs and gang territory. Her family, particularly her mother Alice before her passing and her brother Gary, have expressed their belief that investigators could have done more to find her. In October 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police featured Patricia's case in a 10-day campaign to bring attention to missing Indigenous women and girls. The case is a profound and lasting tragedy, a story of a young mother who vanished, leaving behind a son to grow up without her and a family left with unanswered questions. Despite the passage of time, the search for answers continues for Patricia 'Patsy' Favel, whose disappearance has left a void in the lives of her loved ones.Last Seen: Sep 30, 1984
