Nearly 24 years after her daughter disappeared on her way to school, Ayana Patterson says she is ready to take the Milwaukee Police Department to court. Speaking Friday (Feb. 20, 2026), Patterson announced plans to sue the department for $10 million, accusing investigators of misconduct and corruption in the original search for her missing first-grader, Alexis Patterson. She argues the handling of the case caused her severe mental anguish and long-term damage to her reputation.
Patterson and her representative, Ronnie Bo, spoke publicly about the potential lawsuit, telling WISN that they believe police have failed Alexis and her family. "Nobody has done anything effective to bring Alexis Patterson back home," Bo said. Patterson told the outlet she believes investigators zeroed in too aggressively on her family and mishandled DNA testing that came out of various tips. She also said she still believes Alexis is alive and may be living in Ohio.
According to the Charley Project, Alexis was last seen on May 3, 2002. Her stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, walked her to Hi‑Mount Elementary and watched her cross toward the playground. The little girl never made it into class. What began as a massive citywide search was later reclassified as a criminal investigation when days and then weeks passed with no trace of Alexis. Over the years, witnesses reported seeing a red pickup truck near the school in the days before she vanished, but investigators were never able to identify the vehicle.
Detectives focused heavily on Bourgeois, who had a criminal history that loomed over the case. He had been tied to a 1994 bank robbery that led to the death of a Glendale police officer, according to archived reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The paper notes that Bourgeois received immunity for testifying in that earlier case and later died in 2021.
The Milwaukee Police Department told WISN it has not yet received a formal notice of intent to sue. The department also confirmed that Alexis' disappearance "remains an open cold case." Officials did not immediately say whether Patterson's public threat of legal action would trigger any internal review of how the investigation was handled.
Legal note
Under Wisconsin law, anyone who wants to sue a government body usually has to clear a procedural hurdle first. Most such claims are subject to a notice-of-claim requirement, and courts have consistently enforced rules that call for written notice before a lawsuit against a municipality or its employees can move forward. That framework, often cited in opinions as Wis. Stat. § 893.80, means the timing and content of any notice from Patterson are likely to be crucial if she proceeds. Court guidance on the statute and related rulings provides the basic roadmap for how Wisconsin handles these kinds of claims.
What to watch
In the short term, the drama plays out on paper. The key questions are whether Patterson files a written notice, whether a formal complaint follows, and how the city responds. Milwaukee could fight on procedural grounds and ask that any claim be disallowed or narrowed under the state’s rules. Meanwhile, Alexis' case stays on the books as an open cold file, and authorities continue to ask the public for help. Public case summaries list Milwaukee Police contacts for tips, and anyone with information is encouraged to check those records or reach out through the law-enforcement tip lines referenced in public documents.
