In this episode, we hear from Lynette, the mother of Nicholas Robert Patterson, a Pit River man who went missing in January of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This conversation was recorded at the MMIP Conference in Sacramento, California on February 3rd, 2026, where families gathered to share their stories and bring awareness to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).

Lynette shares the painful journey her family has walked since Nick disappeared, from filing missing persons reports across multiple counties, to organizing searches, navigating law enforcement, and continuing to seek answers years later.

In 2024, partial remains believed to belong to Nick were discovered, but many questions still remain. Through her grief, Lynette continues to advocate not only for her son, but for other Indigenous f ...