However, in 2023, 31 years after she vanished, Patricia was located in a nursing home in Puerto Rico, after a social worker found out more about the woman and contacted authorities.

When news broke, Bob, who never remarried, spoke at a press-conference, stating: “It’s a sad thing, but it’s a relief off my mind. When your wife goes missing, you’re a suspect.”

The 86-year-old was then asked how he felt about being a suspect for the case, to which he responded: “After 30 years, you try to forget about it.

“Now, I can forget about it. We know what happened, and she is taken care of now. She could have come home any time. But that’s what she wanted. She always said she wanted to go to a warm climate.”

Patricia was wandering aimlessly around the home in 1999, before being taken in, and though she stayed tight-lipped about her past, she began to open up more as she suffered from dementia.

A DNA test confirmed that the woman was indeed Patricia, with her sister Gloria also relieved when she found the news out as she flew straight to Puerto Rico to see her long-lost sister.

Gloria told WMTW: “We’re very thankful to know that Patty is alive and well.”

“She’s being well taken care of. We really thought she was dead all those years. It was a very big shock to know that she’s still alive.”

Police suggested that she may have left her husband and country behind after she realised she might be institutionalised due to her mental state.