There’s always plenty of people who are absolutely sure they have seen a missing person in some place, and is later determined the person in question was never in that place.

It’s not that people intentionally lie (well, maybe *some* of them do), but it’s easy to see someone who kinda looks like the guy or girl whose photo you’ve seen on posters and become convinced they must be that missing person.

Unfortunately, I think Patty never got very far from the place of the accident: she was probably injured and confused, and it’s easy to get lost and succumb to the elements.