Gary Patterson
19 min read
Gary Patterson was a man whose integrity seemed to shine through every story told about him. That same sense of trust and optimism would lead Gary into an “opportunity” that turned out to be something far more sinister. Gary's innocence and kind spirit were evident to everyone who knew him, making his disappearance shocking and deeply tragic. Something Attorney Bill Johnston said about Gary's killer stayed with me: he is more dangerous than a serial killer. A serial killer acts on impulses and dark compulsions — but this man was something else entirely. A warm-blooded killer. Calculated. Deceptive. Evil in a different, more deliberate way.
Job Interview
Waco is a small town located between Austin and Dallas. Its residents feel safe there, describing it as a great place to attend church and raise a family. Historically, Waco has not been known for high crime rates. Although the city's economy faced a downturn in the late 1980s and early 1990s, efforts were made to attract tourism by developing attractions like the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. As a result, Waco's population experienced a slight increase, rising to 101,216 in 1980 and 103,216 in 1990. In 1993, the area gained international attention due to a confrontation between the FBI and the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh. By 1997, the economy had improved, leading to a construction boom that kept Brazos Environmental and Engineering Services busy that spring.
Brazos Environmental and Engineering Services
Source: Google
On April 16, 1997, a man named Ned Wright visited Brazos Environmental, mentioning that he and his partner had heard good things about the firm and were looking to hire staff for groundwork on a new project. Wright did not disclose the name of his company or provide a business card; he only mentioned that they were a Florida-based Fortune 500 company involved in constructing a large modular home community. Sensing the potential for a lucrative contract, the executives at Brazos were eager to extend their best Southern hospitality. Wright requested to review all the employees' resumes and expressed a desire to personally meet everyone in the office. Among those he met was Gary Patterson, a 33-year-old draftsman at Brazos who held a relatively low-level position. For reasons that neither Patterson nor his colleagues understood, Ned Wright took an immediate interest in him.
Before Ned Wright left town, he called Gary to express how impressed he was with him. He asked if Gary could take a few days off to meet with the company's CEO in Florida and discuss the possibility of him working for them. Flattered by the attention, Gary said he would need to consider it. They both agreed that keeping their budding relationship a secret would be best. Over the next three weeks, Wright continued to call Gary at work. Sometimes he used a fake name when speaking to the receptionist, and other times he provided no name at all. The receptionist began to joke with Gary whenever he received a call, saying, "It's that strange guy from Florida who doesn't want me to know who he is."
Gary eventually agreed to fly to Florida for an interview, but he suggested bringing his new fiancée along for a quick beach vacation. However, Wright's enthusiasm suddenly faded, and he claimed that the company was so busy that now was no longer the right time for him to fly out. Shortly after, Wright proposed a new plan: could Gary fly to El Paso, where another development project was underway, to meet with the company's CEO? Wright offered Gary $400 to purchase a plane ticket and mentioned that they would increase his salary if he accepted the job and provided a signing bonus of a brand-new Chevrolet Suburban, which he could drive back to Waco. They would arrange to fly him back home on the corporate jet if he decided not to take the job.
Gary was excited about a new opportunity, but didn't want to jeopardize his current position at Brazos. As a result, he only shared the news about his interview with his fiancée, Michelle, his parents, and a couple of coworkers. His parents were skeptical and tried to convince him not to go, believing that the opportunity seemed too good to be true and that he might be getting set up. However, Gary reassured his family that he would always wonder what he might have missed if he didn't go. Although Michelle felt uneasy about Gary's trip, she was very supportive and helped him choose a white shirt, black jeans, and boots for his interview.
Gary Patterson
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
On Saturday, May 3, 1997, Gary left his young daughter, Crystal, with his parents and boarded a 7:30 a.m. American Eagle flight out of Waco. Around noon, Gary called his parents to inform them that he had landed safely in El Paso. After that call, however, Gary's family never heard from him again. They immediately sensed that something terrible must have happened. He was not the type of person to be unresponsive. On Monday, Gary's father, D.C. Patterson, went to the Waco Police Department and filed a missing persons report. In his report, D.C. claimed he suspected that Sam Urick, Gary's father-in-law, was responsible for Gary's disappearance.
Background
Gary Lynn “Pat” Patterson was born to D.C. and Ruby Patterson on September 24, 1963. He attended Texas A&M University in College Station, where he studied engineering. Everyone described Gary as an outstanding individual. He was close to his family, never caused trouble, did not drink, and was actively involved in his church community. Gary had a passion for country western music and enjoyed line dancing, making it a point to participate every weekend. In 1984, at a dance hall, he met a woman named Lisa Urick, described as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. They married a few months later. Shortly thereafter, Gary began working for Lisa's father, Sam Urick.
Gary line dancing
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
The Patterson family never clearly understood what line of work Sam Urick was involved in. Sam promised Gary he would set them up in business on several occasions, but the deal fell through each time. In 1986, Gary and Lisa purchased a trailer and a plot of land near Lake Brownwood, where they were supposed to manage a motel for Sam. However, when the investor backed out, Sam's daughter and son-in-law were stranded without money or support. D.C. and Ruby Patterson advised Gary and Lisa to return home, so they stayed with the Pattersons in their Waco home for three months until they regained financial stability. Despite this, Sam continued to pressure Gary into various get-rich-quick schemes. Each time they failed, it seemed that Sam reaped all the profits, only to disappear for months without explanation, leaving Gary to deal with angry customers and bill collectors.
In March 1991, Gary and Lisa welcomed their daughter, Crystal. After her birth, Lisa became noticeably jealous of anyone who interacted with Crystal, including Gary and his parents. Around this time, Sam claimed to have established an insurance company in Waco and appointed Lisa as its president. He set up a building with computers inside, kept the doors locked, and showed no signs indicating the type of business being conducted there. One day, in a panic, Lisa called Gary to say that two men had arrived carrying guns, asking for Sam's whereabouts. She had her infant daughter with her at work when these men showed up. Shortly thereafter, a banker doing business with Sam started inquiring about the company and the origins of the large deposits being made. Within two weeks, Sam shut the business down, leaving Gary and Lisa in a difficult situation again. After another failed business attempt, Gary informed Lisa that her parents were no longer welcome in their home and that he would never enter into a business arrangement with her father again.
To distance himself from Sam, Gary accepted a job as a draftsman at Brazos Environmental and Engineering Services. This decision upset Sam, who told Lisa that if she didn't leave Gary, he would take Crystal and ensure she never saw her daughter again. Thus, in September 1992, after eight years of marriage, Lisa and Gary filed for divorce. During the court proceedings, Lisa made serious allegations against Gary, claiming that he had raped her and had been abusive towards her and their daughter. Although these accusations were false, Lisa was awarded custody of Crystal, who was only two years old at the time, while Gary received liberal visitation rights. However, this arrangement did not satisfy the Urick’s.
Lisa began distancing herself to prevent Gary from seeing Crystal. She quit her job and told Gary she was moving to the City by the Sea near Rockport, where he could pick up Crystal. Since it was difficult for Gary to leave work, D.C. and Ruby Patterson made the 10-hour round trip to pick up their granddaughter. Whenever the Pattersons traveled to collect Crystal, Gary would ride with them or fly back on Sunday evenings to drop her off. By September 1994, Lisa and Crystal had vanished completely. Desperate to reunite with his daughter, Gary made several unsuccessful attempts to locate them on his own. Eventually, the Patterson’s hired Scott Settimo, a private investigator from San Diego, to track Lisa down.
Eventually, Settimo found Lisa and Crystal living in Pilot Point, Oregon. In August 1996, Lisa was arrested and returned to Waco, where she faced charges of interference with child custody. She was granted limited supervised visitation rights with Crystal. As part of her sentencing, Lisa was placed on five years of probation and ordered to make full restitution of $14,032.81 to Gary, who had incurred significant expenses in his efforts to locate his ex-wife and the child he was supposed to have custody of. Ironically, Lisa's sentencing hearing, during which she received probation, occurred the day before a man identifying as Ned Wright appeared at Brazos Environmental and Engineering.
Around 1996-1997, Gary met Michelle Oney at a singles group at church. They began studying the Bible together, often accompanied by Crystal, and quickly formed a strong connection. Michelle fell in love with Gary because of his dedication to his family and deep love for his daughter. Although Michelle had never learned how to line dance, she went out with Gary every Friday night to the dance hall because she knew how much he enjoyed it. Gary proposed to Michelle two weeks before leaving for a job interview in El Paso.
Gary and Michelle
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
Investigation
Police detectives Steve January and Kristina Woodruff, assigned to the case, decided their priority was learning more about the man who had offered Gary the job. Employees at Brazos Environmental informed the detectives that this man arrived and left by taxi. The small town of Waco only had one cab company, Yellow Cab. The police contacted Yellow Cab, and a driver recalled picking up a fare from the Fairfield Inn and taking him to Brazos Environmental. Later, the driver returned the passenger to the motel. The detectives then contacted the motel to request access to the telephone logbook. They discovered several outgoing calls had been made to Brazos Environmental and Yellow Cab from an occupant in room 105 on the same day. Since the guest paid with cash, the motel's registration policy required a Xerox copy of the guest's driver's license at check-in. However, they found that the room was occupied not by Ned Wright, but by a man named Theodore Donald Young.
Ted Young license
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
The police returned to Brazos with a black-and-white copy of a license photo and included it in a lineup. Several employees confirmed the picture was of the Florida businessman who had visited. Ned Wright was actually Theodore Young, a federal fugitive since February 1995. He had been convicted in a $26 million fraud case in South Carolina and sentenced to 51 months in prison. Ted failed to surrender and has been on the run from authorities ever since.
Around this time, investigators also spoke with Scott Settimo, the private investigator hired by the Pattersons to locate Lisa and Crystal. Settimo believed that Sam Urick was financing her escape and focused his efforts on tracking him, assuming the trail would eventually lead to Lisa. Settimo informed Detective January that he had once followed Sam and obtained a leather-bound day planner from the front seat of his parked Lincoln. Recognizing that the planner could contain valuable information for the investigation, Settimo overnighted it via FedEx to the Waco Police Department. The planner contained addresses and phone numbers for many of Sam's friends and business associates, including Ted Young.
The detectives agreed it was time to focus their investigation on Sam Urick. January called Sam at his trucking company, Southern Sales, located in Conroe, hoping to arrange an interview with him in Waco. However, Sam insisted that if they wanted to talk, they would have to come to him instead. By the time January could schedule a visit to Conroe, Sam had shut down the business and fled. The trucking company showed little evidence of being a legitimate operation. A computer check revealed that Southern Sales had previously operated under several names and presidents. The only proof of any business being conducted was a series of long-distance phone bills, some reaching as high as $2,000 per month. Records indicated multiple calls had been made to various numbers in El Paso, with some connections traced as far away as Honduras.
Southern Sales
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
Detectives Steve January and Kristina Woodruff were eager to present the case to Matt Cawthorn, a Texas Ranger who had heard about Gary's disappearance. They explained their primary concern: the jurisdictional problems involved. "What we needed to determine," January explained, "was how to handle a case where the events may have occurred hundreds of miles away. Essentially, we were still working on a missing person's case in Waco, even though the individual we were looking for had vanished in El Paso." Cawthorn suggested that local, state, and federal agencies hold meetings to share what they knew. Nearly three months later, Waco-based Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston joined their team. At the time, Johnston was heavily involved in prosecuting members of the Branch Davidians, but he made it clear that he was eager to support the Rangers and the police in any way possible.
Johnston's first step was to address the jurisdictional issue surrounding Gary's disappearance. The only way Gary's disappearance could be viewed as a federal crime was if transportation across state lines was involved. After conducting some research, he identified a relevant statute concerning interstate flight. He discovered that Gary's commercial flight to El Paso was scheduled to continue to San Francisco that same day. With this legal interpretation, Gary Patterson's disappearance was elevated to a federal case, granting authorities the power to subpoena witnesses and seek cooperation from officials in El Paso.
For several months, Cawthon, January, and Woodruff traveled back and forth from Waco to El Paso. While they could not locate Ted Young, Sam Urick's day planner provided a long list of scam artists and con men associated with him. One individual, Clark Paulson, admitted that Sam had contacted him several months prior, asking to use his pickup truck. Paulson delivered the vehicle to Young at the Red Roof Inn in El Paso and picked it up again in the motel's parking lot the following day. Another man, Ollie Martinez, claimed to know Ted Young and said Sam had visited his house several times looking for Ted. Martinez informed the authorities that Ted Young was in Honduras. However, when the Waco investigators relayed this information to the U.S. Marshals in El Paso, they were quickly cautioned that Martinez was a known hustler, likely just seeking a free ride back to Central America. Additionally, another associate revealed that Sam had regularly visited his home on 640 isolated desert acres east of El Paso, sometimes staying for weeks. Another contact of Sam's left town before the police had the opportunity to question him; he had recently been indicted for defrauding the Royal Bank of Canada of nearly $200 million.
It was also discovered that, although the FBI did not have enough evidence for an arrest, they had long suspected Sam Urick's involvement in the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub that resulted in the deaths of American military personnel. According to a highly classified FBI investigation known as "Operation Circus," Sam was a known associate of two rogue CIA agents, Frank Terpil and Edmond Wilson, who were accused of selling stolen arms to foreign terrorists. Reports indicate that Sam assisted Terpil and Wilson in hiding out while they were fugitives. Additionally, he was involved in the purchase and delivery of 40,000 pounds of plastic explosives to Libyan terrorists, who ultimately claimed responsibility for the attack that killed Americans in Germany.
For weeks, Matt Cawthorn had been reading local newspaper accounts about dozens of discarded bodies of young female factory workers found in the deserts surrounding Juarez, near El Paso. He decided it was time to investigate a 640-acre ranch located east of town. When they arrived, the head of security for the property met with the officers after finishing his shift. Later that evening, Cawthorn skillfully shifted the discussion towards the ranch's landscape. "I've walked every inch of that 600 acres," the guard assured him. Cawthorn asked, "Ever find any bones out there?" The guard nodded in response. "I have some at home on the workbench in my garage," he admitted. Cawthorn explained that they would like to have the bones examined, to which the guard replied with a shrug, "Be my guest." Back in Waco, Dr. Susan Mackey-Wallace, an anthropologist at Baylor University, examined the bone Cawthorn had taken from his briefcase and identified it as part of a human arm.
On April 17, 1998, Lisa Urick Patterson was arrested and placed in the McLennan County jail after failing to pay court-mandated fines during her probation. Investigators decided it was the right time to start questioning Lisa. At first, she refused to say anything. Until Detective January said, "You're never going to believe what we found in the desert out in El Paso—a human bone." Lisa then leaned forward, veins protruding from her temples. She shook while holding her stomach as if she was cramping. Twenty-four hours later, she began to talk. Lisa admitted that her father was planning to lure Gary to El Paso. She insisted that she had begged Sam not to kill Gary, but he was still angry about the allegations Lisa had made regarding her ex-husband's abusive behavior. He told her nothing would change his mind about what he intended to do to Gary.
According to Lisa, Sam had previously assisted Ted Young while he was evading the law. Knowing that Ted felt indebted to him, Sam convinced him to return to the U.S. from South America to help kill Gary. Lisa also informed the detectives that her father had suggested she tell the Pattersons a lie about needing a photograph of her ex-husband. In February 1997, Lisa contacted Ruby Patterson and requested a photo of Gary to place inside a locket she intended to gift to Crystal. Although Lisa had the necklace made, she gave the picture to Ted so he would know what Gary looked like. During the interview, she mentioned that she and her father were aware that Gary liked shiny things, and they believed he would likely travel to El Paso for the offer of a brand-new Suburban.
On May 28, 1998, a year after Gary's disappearance, the Texas Rangers arrived at a 640-acre tract in El Paso with a warrant and organized a massive search party—the most extensive search in Texas at that time. Hundreds of law enforcement officers participated, using horses, four-wheelers, and dog teams. A few hours into the search, a border patrol team announced they had discovered the skeletal remains of a body. Unfortunately, it was not Gary Patterson; instead, it belonged to another murder victim from an El Paso homicide case. Ranger Matt Cawthon remarked, "For every step forward, it seemed we took two back." Two months later, unexpected news arrived that U.S. Marshals near Las Vegas had arrested Sam Urick. With Sam now in custody, attorney Bill Johnston advised Cawthon, "You've got to go to Honduras. We need Ted."
Capture
In July 1998, Texas Rangers Matt Cawthon and Clete Buckaloo, along with agents from the Secret Service, boarded a flight to Honduras. One of the first things they discovered was that computer records tracked the arrivals and departures of individuals entering or leaving the country. They learned that Ted Young had been traveling on a passport issued to his twin brother, Fred, who had helped him escape from South Carolina after his conviction. The travel records matched times when Ted had been seen in Waco and El Paso. Investigators found a telephone number registered to Ted, and the Honduran police informed them that if someone has a residence in the country, the associated phone number remains linked to that house and does not transfer when the person moves. The Rangers traced the number to a rural mountain town and showed locals pictures of Ted, who was quickly recognized. The locals described him as a taller "gringo" with gray hair, noting that he now lived in San Pedro Sula and operated a junkyard. Cawthon recalled, "We set up nearby and finally saw this gray-haired man emerge from the gate. I can't describe how I felt at the moment when I finally saw the man we'd been chasing for 15 months. I wanted to run across the road and hug him." On July 31, 1998, Ted Young was arrested.
Ted assumed he was arrested for his fraud conviction in South Carolina and began to rant. Cawthon quickly interrupted him, saying, "We're Texas Rangers. We're not here to discuss your past with the U.S. government or South Carolina. That's all behind us. We're here to talk about Gary Patterson." Cawthon proceeded to outline the evidence he and the Waco police had gathered. "We know you posed as Ned Wright. We know about your stays at the Fairfield Inn in Waco and the Red Roof Inn in El Paso. We know you were there with Clark Paulson and Sam Urick. We know, Ted. Now you need to decide whether you want to cooperate with us or spend the rest of your life in prison protecting Sam." Ted stared at Cawthon and finally let out a deep sigh. "Okay," he said, "I'll give you what you want."
Ted Young recounted how Sam Urick had called him, asking him to return to the U.S. to help with a problem involving his son-in-law. Since moving to Honduras, Sam had been shipping old trucks to Ted to sell, which was his primary source of income. "I owed him some favors," Ted explained, "so I agreed to help." However, the situation was more challenging than either of them had anticipated. Their plan in Florida initially fell through when Gary insisted on bringing his girlfriend along. On another occasion, Ted, posing as Ned Wright, contacted Gary and arranged to meet him at the Waco airport. The plan was for Ted to then drive Gary to an area near China Springs, where Sam was waiting to kill him and dispose of his body in an oil drum. "Unfortunately, something happened, and Gary didn't show up at the airport when I arrived," Ted recalled. After that setback, they devised a new plan involving El Paso.
Ted mentioned that when Gary arrived, he spent most of the day keeping Gary occupied to delay the "interview" until after dark. They had lunch and visited several bars. By the time he finally announced it was time to meet the CEO, Gary was somewhat tipsy. "I told him that on the way, I had to drive out to a development site to pick up a soil sample," Ted recounted. "As I drove Paulson's pickup into the desert, Gary kept dozing off." When they reached the pre-arranged location, Ted pulled a .22 pistol from beneath the driver's seat and pointed it at a now wide-awake Gary. Sam Urick opened the passenger door, smiled, and said, "I've got you now, motherfucker." He began wrapping duct tape around Gary's arms and legs, then yanked him from the truck.
"Sam told me to head back into town," Young said. "He said, 'Get out of here and don't come back until tomorrow. This is going to take all night.'" Ted said he immediately returned to the Red Roof Inn and called a local escort service. "When I saw Sam the next morning, I asked him where Gary was. He replied, 'He's in the desert.'" Cawthon pushed a notepad across the table and said, "Show me where." "The original plan," Ted explained, "was to do it at that old ranch east of town. But there were security people wandering around, so we decided on a spot adjacent to it." Later that evening, Steve January was packing to leave his hotel room in El Paso when Cawthon called him with the news of Young's arrest. January had just arrested Clark Paulson, who had lent Sam Urick his pickup truck, for his involvement in Gary's disappearance. "Get a search party together," the Ranger instructed. "I'm faxing you a map to where Gary Patterson's body is buried."
On August 3, 1998, authorities discovered a body buried in a shallow grave at a location indicated by a search dog. Investigator January halted the digging and ordered the area to be roped off. A helicopter was called to take aerial photographs and videos to document the excavation process. Dirt sifters and metal detectors were brought in to search for any bullets or shell casings, in case the victim had been shot. The body was eventually exhumed and taken to the medical examiner's office. The following day, the coroner identified the body as Gary Patterson, who was still wearing the white shirt, black jeans, and boots he had on the morning of his trip to El Paso.
Where are they now
In September 1999, Sam Urick, 59 years old, and Ted Young, 49 years old, pleaded guilty to the murder of Gary Patterson. Although attorney Bill Johnston wanted to pursue the death penalty, the Department of Justice did not permit it, resulting in Sam Urick receiving a life sentence. Following his arrest, Sam recounted how he beat Patterson repeatedly with a metal pipe before burying him that night in the desert. However, he did not admit to burying his victim while he was still alive, despite the coroner's findings that indicated sand had been inhaled into Patterson's thorax.
Ted Young pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder-for-hire and to carrying a firearm during a violent crime. He received a 20-year sentence, which was added to the 51 months he still owed to South Carolina authorities. Before entering his plea, he stated that Sam drove him from El Paso to Corpus Christi and took $180 in cash from Gary's body. Using his twin's passport, Ted crossed the border into Mexico and traveled back to Honduras.
Sam Urick and Ted Young
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
Craig Paulson was acquitted, claiming he did not know how the pickup he loaned to Sam Urick and Ted Young would be used.
Lisa Urick Patterson, who previously pled guilty to misprision of felony for knowing about plans to murder her ex-husband and failing to alert authorities, received a three-year prison sentence. This sentence was added to the two years she was already serving for violating her parole terms. As a result, Lisa's parental rights were relinquished to D.C. and Ruby Patterson. Lisa Urick died on June 18, 2005.
The Patterson’s were not expecting to spend their retirement years raising a child. They had already spent over a hundred thousand dollars on investigations, attorneys, and court fees since their son's disappearance. However, this expense is nothing compared to their love for Crystal. "I'd do every bit of it again," D.C. said. "I can't change what happened to Gary, but I can try to raise that little blond-haired girl so she has a decent chance at life and can become an upstanding citizen. We will do everything we can to keep her."
Gary and Crystal
Source: "Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen
Sources
https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/death-in-the-desert-6393311
https://www.oxygen.com/buried-in-the-backyard/crime-news/gary-patterson-beaten-and-buried-alive-in-the-texas-desert
https://destinationwaco.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Waco-History-2017.pdf
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp88-01070r000100020005-8
"Buried in the Backyard." Gone in the Sand, season 5, episode 11, Oxygen, September 9, 2023.