Patrick Robert Edwards, also known as “Patches” and publicly referred to in some posts as Patches O’Callahan, was 41 years old when he disappeared from Cotopaxi, Colorado, in Fremont County. NamUs lists him as Patrick Robert Edwards in missing person case MP140986, with his date of last contact recorded as November 24, 2024, and his missing-from location listed as Cotopaxi.
The attached case information describes Patrick as a White/Caucasian male with brown hair and brown eyes, shoulder-length dreadlocks, and a possible scruffy beard. He had several identifying marks, including a scar or mark on the top of his head, a green shamrock tattoo on his right wrist, three Grateful Dead-style bears on his lower left leg, and a Celtic cross on his shoulder.
The account shared by those close to Patrick gives his disappearance a painful human weight. A GoFundMe organized by Lynne Mitchell says Patrick had served in the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan and had traveled across the country many times with his dogs, first Spange and later Emerson. According to that fundraiser, Patrick arrived in Cotopaxi on November 21, 2024, and was excited to call the area home. Just days later, he reportedly went outside to have a cigarette and was never seen or heard from again. His phone, belongings, and his dog Emerson were left behind, details that made his disappearance especially alarming to the people who knew and loved him.
The attached case data states that Patrick went out to have a “smoke” and never came back, leaving behind his phone, bag, and dog, and that all contact stopped on November 24. It lists the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office as the investigating agency, with the report date shown as February 21, 2025. In the months after he vanished, Patrick’s family and friends continued searching for answers, and the fundraiser described their frustration at not knowing what had happened. They said police had been involved from the time they knew he was missing, but that they still had no real answers, prompting efforts to raise money for a private investigator.
Public updates from Missing People in America later indicated that Patrick had been found deceased. The exact date and circumstances of that recovery are not clear from the publicly available information reviewed here, and the attached NamUs data does not list a formal case resolution status of Deceased. Still, the public update means the case is no longer an active missing-person search in the same way it was when Patrick’s loved ones were asking the public for help locating him. His disappearance began with a brief step outside in Cotopaxi and became a months-long search marked by silence, worry, and unanswered questions. In overview, Patrick Edwards’ case is the story of a 41-year-old veteran and dog owner who had recently arrived in Colorado hoping for a new chapter, vanished after reportedly stepping outside, left behind the things and companion he would not be expected to abandon, and was later reported by a public missing-person organization to have been found deceased, leaving those who cared about him with grief and a need for clarity about what happened.Last Seen: Nov 24, 2024
