Woman Missing 31 Years Ago Found In Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO – A Pennsylvania woman who went missing more than 30 years ago has been found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico. Authorities say a DNA test has confirmed her identity as Patricia Kopta.

U.S. officials said in a news conference this week that she left behind a husband and siblings and meandered through northern Puerto Rico for a while before she was taken as a person “In need” to the adult care home in 1999.

They say Kopta, once known as a street preacher in her home town, initially kept her past secret while in Puerto Rico, but began to divulge details as she suffered progressively from dementia.

They say by last year, a social worker at the home had enough information to alert authorities back home about the now-83-year-old woman who had been declared legally dead.