Update: Whitley County Golden Alert ends with tragic outcome

Update: A Golden Alert D, which was issued during the early morning hours Saturday for a missing Whitley County woman, has ended with a tragic outcome.

About 8 a.m. Friday (April 7), Stephanie Patterson, 48, was reported missing to Whitley County officials.

She was last seen walking away from her residence off Grove Road in Corbin, according to a Whitley County Sheriff’s Department release.

The initial release noted that it was crucial that Patterson be located as soon as possible because she suffered from Huntington disease, which required medication that she had not taken Friday.

“Following an extensive search late last night into early this morning, Mrs. Patterson has tragically been located deceased. There is no reason to believe that foul play was a factor. We ask the public to keep her family, friends, and community in your prayers,” the sheriff’s department wrote in a release issued at 4:10 p.m. Saturday.

Patterson’s body was located following an “extensive search utilizing all available resources,” including local search and rescue, a Williamsburg Police Department K-9, Kentucky Emergency Management, and a host of volunteer firefighters, according to the release.

The Whitley County Sheriff’s Department is continuing the investigation.