LUMBERTON, N.C. (WNCN) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is stepping up their efforts to help Lumberton police find missing 20-year-old, Abby Lynn Patterson.
The FBI issued a missing poster today in an effort to hopefully obtain any information from the public on the woman’s whereabouts. The poster has multiple pictures of Patterson, as well as information that will help the public identify her if she’s seen somewhere.
Patterson was last seen when she climbed into a brown Buick near East Ninth Street on Sept. 5, Lumberton police said.
She’s described by police as standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. She has light skin, with a birth mark on the back left thigh and a bird tattoo on her shoulder, police say.
Patterson’s disappearance is not believed to be related to the deaths of three women earlier this year in Lumberton.
“While there is always a possibility, we are 99 percent sure the case is not related to the females this spring and early summer,” said Capt. Terry W. Parker of the Lumberton Police Department.
Megan Ann Oxendine, 28, Christina Bennett, 32, and Rhonda Jones, 36, were all found dead in an area between East Fifth and East Eighth streets. Bennett’s and Jones’ bodies were found April 18. Oxendine was alive at the time, and was interviewed by CBS North Carolina about the death of her friend, Jones. Oxendine’s body was found June 3.
Bennett’s body was found in a house. Jones’ body was in a trash can. And Oxendine’s body was behind a house.
Investigators have not released how any of the women died, nor have they named any suspects in the deaths.
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“We aren’t sure if (the three women’s deaths) are related, but we are considering it,” Parker said in June.
Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads them to Patterson.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Abby Lynn Patterson is asked to call the FBI at 704-672-6100 or the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3845.
