All the theories and false confessions behind the Patrice Endres' Unsolved Mysteries case

One case which captured imaginations completely was that of the disappearance and death of Patrice Endres, who features in the episode titled 13 Minutes.

The hairdresser went missing in 2004 in the space of 13 minutes, before being found, some 600 days later on 6th December 2005.

Her remains were found behind Lebanon Baptist Church in Dawson County, and since then, all eyes are on whodunnit.

There's been big interest in the case, and it spurred Netflix on to release unseen video clips and interviews on the first six cases, while the episode's director Jimmy Goldblum has revealed his thoughts on the case, including what he believes is the "key" to finding Patrice's murderer and what he thinks of her husband Rob's unusual behaviour. He also went on to hint at some mystery around her remains that were discovered 600 days after she went missing.

Here's everything you need to know about Patrice and the theories surrounding her strange case.

Who is Patrice Endres?

Patrice was a Georgia mum and hairdresser who owned her own salon. She suddenly went missing on April 15, 2004, leaving behind a son, Pistol Black, who is featured in much of the "13 Minutes" episode.

His pain over the mysterious loss of his mother, and the dearth of answers in the last 16 years, is clear to see. There are currently no suspects.

What happened to Patrice Endres?

The "13 Minutes" episode refers to the time in which authorities believe Patrice was taken from her salon.

Very little is known about what could have happened; passers-by saw that Patrice's car was parked at an unusual angle, but the salon was empty by the time another person arrived.

When authorities were called, they discovered that money had been taken from a safe and Patrice's lunch had been left out uneaten, but there was no other evidence of a break-in or a struggle.

All the police officers had to work on was the understanding that something had happened between 11.37am—the time of the last phone call Patrice answered—and 11.50am, the time of the first call she didn't pick up.

Some 600 days later however, remains of a body were found and identified to be Patrice's. Later, officials realised that Patrice's wedding ring was not recovered with the body. The ring has never been found.

Timeline of Patrice's disappearance

Since the series has been released on Netflix, a number of viewers have stormed social media with clues, evidence and theories about the deaths featured in the series.

Recently, Netflix released a set of unseen interviews and video clips on their Reddit page to assist in the amateur sleuthing by fans.

In a new clip, the officers reveal how they worked out the 13-minute time frame which they believe is the time it took for Patrice to disappear.

According to the officers in the video clip, the events followed in this order:

• 08.50 - First client Pam Sheppard arrives at Patrice's salon for a 9am appointment. Patrice is there. The customer told the police that Patrice seemed "distracted" and was not very "attentive" towards her.
• 11.05 - Pam leaves the shop.
• 11.10 - Paul Cantor arrives for a haircut.
• 11.27 - Paul leaves. The customer received a phone call as he was leaving and the police were able to verify this by his cell phone records.
• 11.35 - A customer calls to change an appointment. The customer reported that Patrice was somewhat short on the phone, which was unusual for her. The call lasted two minutes.
• 11.50 - Mitchell, one of the officers, said that based on phone records, Patrice's next call came in at this time. However, there was no answer. "So you can draw the conclusion that something's not right here," he said.

Who killed Patrice Endres?

It's still unknown who is responsible for Patrice's death, but over the years there have been some false confessions.

In the 16 years since Patrice's death, two separate serial killers, Jeremy Brian Jones and Gary Michael Hilton, have been suspected in her death, with Jones even confessing to her murder.

He claimed he had kidnapped, assaulted, and killed Patrice, dumping her body in a creek in a neighbouring county. Searches of the area uncovered nothing, and Jones later revealed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had “made up the story to get better food and extra jail visitation and phone privileges”.

It was determined by authorities that neither men likely killed Patrice.

Another lead was provided by a woman. Forsyth News reported that she claimed to have seen a man and a white van in front of the salon at the time, and worked with a sketch artist on a rendering of the scene. However, she later recanted her story and was charged with providing false statements.

Recently, the show's director Jimmy Goldblum said that the "key" to solving Patrice's case is the blue Chevy Lumina, which two witnesses claimed to have seen outside Patrice's salon on the day of her disappearance.

He explained: “I just hope that Cosgrove has got really good servers for unsolved.com because I think they will be inundated with this show. Internet sleuthing wasn’t a thing when the original Unsolved Mysteries was on air, so I just have a feeling that this episode is going to get picked apart.

“One thing I realised on the set that the blue Chevy Lumina, I don’t know the degree to which that part of the case was investigated at the time. I think it was something that emerged a little bit later and I’m really really hopeful that people in Dawson County or any of these surrounding areas are going to see the episode and think about that Chevy Lumina and this could lead us to a place that this could be potentially be solved.”

He continued: "I really do think that is the key to the case, the fact that two independent witnesses both saw basically the same car around the same time. I just think everything is right there.

As much as we can talk about Jeremy Jones and Gary Hilton or Rob [Endres] even, I think that car is the thing that will get the police and the investigators where they need to go in order to solve this thing."

Where is Rob Endres?

The main figure featured in the episode, other than Patrice's son, is Rob Endres who was married to Patrice at the time.

Viewers were shocked to find out more about the case, as he revealed he would carry around her skull and sleep with her ashes.

Rob was 20 years older than Patrice and they first met when he visited the salon for a haircut.

Several people who were close to Patrice reveal in the episode that she was unhappy in her marriage, and possibly looking into a divorce.

Just 24 hours after Patrice's disappearance, Rob revealed he changed the locks on his home - something that caught Unsolved Mysteries Director Jimmy Goldblum’s attention.

Speaking on the podcast You Can’t Make This Up, Goldblum said: “I think there’s a really salient point there, which is that he did it within 24 hours.

“I think in that point in the case, you have police dogs out, you have the town going through the woods, you have ATVs. So everyone is searching. There’s still the idea that Patrice could come back, so the fact that he felt comfortable to change those locks within the 24-hour window, when the whole town was under the belief that she was missing and still alive. I will say in terms of things that stoked my imagination on set, that was a major one.”

The episode also highlights the extremely tense relationship between Rob and Patrice's son Pistol.

Rob says in the episode that he threw Pistol, then a teenager, out of their house as soon as his mother disappeared.

Despite their differences, however, both men remain active in trying to push for the murder to be solved.

Rob is now retired and is in his mid-70s, and he still lives in Georgia - now in Douglasville.

The show's co-creator Terry Dunn Meurer has responded to fan speculation, accusing Rob of being the culprit.

“It’s totally an unsolved mystery,” she told Variety, when asked about the fact fans have speculated Rob could have something to do with it. “Jeremy Jones has not been ruled out as a suspect in this case, and neither has Gary Hilton. We really try and present balanced cases. As far as I’m concerned, Rob is innocent until proven guilty.

“We take everyone’s interview at face value. Rob’s a character, but he was very, very honest with us in his responses to the interview, and we believe him. We respect him, and we respect everyone we interview."

What's the latest on Patrice's case?

In 2019, Special Agent Kimberly Williams told the Forsyth County News that “Endres’ murder remains an active and important case with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Cleveland Office.”

In the Netflix episode, Special Agent Mitchell Posey explains that “there are aspects of the Patrice Endres investigation that we can’t discuss, that we refuse to discuss, because we define that as guilty knowledge information...information that's only known by the person responsible for what happened to Patrice, and by us, the investigators, that know every aspect of the case. We can't afford to have a false confession. We definitely want to give some form of closure to the family.”

Where is Patrice's ring?

Patrice's wedding ring - consisting of two 14-carat gold rings soldered together with a 1.5-carat pear-shaped marquis diamond in the centre - was never recovered.

Police are hoping that the ring is out there somewhere, and could be the key that finally cracks the case after all these years.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation writes on its website that if you have information about the case or the ring's location, you can call their tip line at 800-597-8477.

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"We are dedicated to solving this case," said Special Agent Kimberly Williams in a statement to the Forsyth County News in 2019.

"And we continue to encourage the public to contact us with any information that may help us hold the responsible party accountable."

Unsolved Mysteries is available to stream on Netflix. Check out our lists of the best TV shows on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide.