KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The investigation into the disappearance of Teleka Patrick has no good leads but will remain active, said Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard C. Fuller at a news conference Wednesday.
“We have no credible tips at this time,” he said. The sheriff gave a detailed timeline of what is known and unknown about Patrick’s disappearance. He noted that even international interest has not generated a single tip that has panned out.
The investigation will continue in cooperation with the Indiana State Police, who found Patrick’s car on I-94 in Portage, Ind., and the FBI.
As to the connection with Grand Rapids pastor and gospel singer Marvin Sapp, he is “nothing more than an innocent victim of stalking.” He has been cooperative, and “he is not a suspect in her disappearance.” Sapp is likely to have never met Patrick, or if he met her he didn’t know who she was.
In the review of events, Patrick’s erratic behavior was a common thread. During her much-touted appearance at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo, employees asked her if she was all right. Indiana State Police received a call from a driver reporting erratic driving behavior by a car that was likely driven by Patrick.
Several unanswered questions were cleared up by the news conference. A mystery phone call Patrick received while she was with others turned out to be a call from a relative and not connected to her disappearance. And the much-covered connection to Rev. Marvin Sapp, in which he was granted a personal protection order against Patrick, is limited to the stalking and Sapp is unconnected to her disappearance.
Here is a timeline of the disappearance as described by Sheriff Fuller:
- Patrick appears at the Radisson Hotel but does not specifically ask for a room. She had no identification and did not have enough money for a room.
- Patrick is taken by hotel van to Borgess Medical Center, where the driver watched her drive away in her own car.
- Two hours later, Indiana State Police respond to one report of an erratic driver and another report of a car off the road on I-94 in Portage, Ind.
- ISP find the car unoccupied with a flat tire. It’s not known if the car went off the pavement due to the flat or if the flat resulted from going off the road. The keys were not in the vehicle, but it contained her wallet with a small amount of money in it. A police dog follows tracks back to the roadway but loses the scent.
- Patrick is reported missing by co-workers.
- Patrick’s locker is found to contain her cell phone, work ID.
- Nothing in her apartment gives an indication of what happened.
Patrick’s disappearance seems to be complete. Her social media accounts have been quiet since she disappeared. She was supposed to be headed to a relative’s house in Chicago, but she never got there. Her credit card and bank accounts have been inactive since she disappeared.
One reason Patrick is a bit of a mystery, said Sheriff Fuller, is that she had not been in Kalamazoo long enough to establish friendships. She had stayed at the Radission Hotel one time in the past, but that was in connection with an orientation at Western Michigan University, a common reason for a hotel stay.
Police continue to come up empty. Surveillance along the highway has yielded no images of her along the highway or in the area. There is no indication that Patrick showed up at any hospital in the Portage, Ind., area. When asked if hospitals would withhold information, the sheriff said hospitals usually cooperate in missing person cases despite privacy concerns.
