The Abduction of Patricia Jean Schneider, July 1982
Early in the morning on Sunday, July 31, 1982, Patricia Schneider, 25, who also went by the nickname Patti, completed her shift as a cocktail waitress at an Indian Hills Golf Course restaurant and nightclub. At 3:45am, after getting off of work, Patricia made a call from the Circle K market on Limonite in Pedley, Riverside County, CA, reporting her car had broken down. Her car was a brown & white 1974 Toyota Celica with the CA license plate 018POF. Patricia has never been seen or heard from again.
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| Patricia Schneider. Photo from NamUs. |
Between 5am and 6am that same morning, a Riverside County sheriff found Patricia's car on fire in a field near the intersection of Van Buren Blvd and Doolittle Ave. It was determined that the vehicle was burning due to arson. The area was searched, but no traces of Patti were found.
Foul play is suspected in Patricia's disappearance, which is considered an abduction. Patti is classified as Endangered Missing on the Charley Project and Doe Network.
Patricia is a white female with blue eyes. At the time she was 25 years old, 5'4, and 115 lbs. She has straight blonde hair that was shoulder-length at the time. When she was abducted she was wearing a cocktail waitress uniform. Patti's date of birth is January 18, 1957. If alive today she would be 68 years old. She may use the last name Underhill.
Patricia's DNA is available for comparison, while her dentals and fingerprints are not. She has seven UID exclusions on NamUs, none of which are featured on this blog.
Patricia's NamUs case, #MP1612, was created on February 16, 2009 and last updated on January 23, 2021. Her Doe Network page was added on March 1, 2009 and last updated on May 18, 2022, while her Charley Project profile was last updated on September 4, 2016.
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| Patricia Schneider. Photo from NamUs. |
I have included Patti's disappearance among my "Bad Samaritan cases" series, which consists of unsolved cases in CA in which a woman disappears or comes to harm after her vehicle becomes inoperable. However, it should be noted that she is not listed among the original/most "official" victims, hence the "Samaritan connection" tag.
I found out about Patricia's disappearance in a Zodiac forum, as it is similar to the semi-canonical Zodiac case of Kathleen Johns, whose car was also found intentionally set on fire. On another Zodiac forum Patricia's case has been compared to that of Dorothy Jane Scott.
There are some people online who believe that Patti's case could possibly be connected to the crimes of Joseph James Deangelo, aka EARONS/Golden State Killer; however, in my opinion this case is vastly different from his usual MO.
Anyone with information regarding Patti's case should contact the Riverside Police Department at RPDChiefOnline@riversideca.gov. The agency case number is P08184599. Which phone number should be called varies across sources: (951) 354-2007 (according to NamUs), (951) 826-5700 (according to Charley Project), (951) 353-7100 (according to Doe Network), or (951) 826-5531 (according to CA DOJ).
Furthermore, according to the CA DOJ's missing persons database, "If you think you know the whereabouts of any person, BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION, please contact the law enforcement agency listed in the record, or the California Department of Justice at 1-800-222-FIND (24 hour nationwide toll-free Hotline) or (916) 210-3119, or email us [CA DOJ] at missing.persons@doj.ca.gov." According to the same site, individuals seeking to contact CA DOJ regarding a missing person can use the email form here.
Sources
International Missing Persons wiki
Note: While this write-up was originally published on June 30, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos or formatting errors, check for updates, hyperlink new posts, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up. This post was last updated on October 3, 2025.
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