A 38-year-old Black female, Patrice Endres, was a beloved mother and the proud owner of Tamber's Trim-N-Tan salon in Cumming, Georgia. On the morning of April 15, 2004, her day began like any other. She dropped her son, Pistol, off at school before heading to the salon she had worked so hard to establish. It was there, in the middle of a seemingly ordinary Thursday, that her life took a dark and mysterious turn. Within a narrow 13-minute window, between approximately 11:37 a.m.
and 11:50 a.m., Patrice vanished without a trace.
When clients arrived for their noon appointment, they found the salon unlocked but eerily empty. Patrice's car had been moved from its usual parking spot. Inside, her lunch was left uneaten, her keys and purse were present, but the cash register was empty. There were no signs of a struggle, no blood, nothing to indicate the violent abduction that must have taken place. The scene was a quiet puzzle, leaving investigators from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office with very few clues to follow. The community was left in fear, hoping for her safe return, but as days turned into months, that hope began to fade.
For 600 days, Patrice's whereabouts remained a mystery. Then, on December 6, 2005, her skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area behind a Baptist church in neighboring Dawson County, roughly ten miles from where she was last seen. Investigators ruled her death a homicide, though a specific cause of death could not be determined. One significant clue was that her wedding ring, a distinctive piece with two bands soldered together and a marquis diamond, was missing and has never been recovered.
Over the years, several individuals have been considered suspects, yet no arrests have ever been made. Her husband, Rob Endres, came under suspicion due to what some family and friends described as a troubled marriage, with Patrice allegedly considering a divorce. His behavior following her disappearance, including changing the locks on their home within 24 hours, also raised questions. Two convicted serial killers were also investigated. Jeremy Jones confessed to abducting and murdering Patrice, but his story was inconsistent with the evidence and he later recanted. Gary Michael Hilton, another serial killer active in the region who was known to frequent hair salons, was also considered a person of interest. Despite these leads, the case grew cold, and to this day, the abduction and murder of Patrice Endres remain unsolved.
