A Pennsylvania woman who went missing decades ago and was declared dead found alive in Puerto Rico

• A Pennsylvania woman who was missing for 30 years and declared dead was found alive in Puerto Rico.
• DNA samples were able to confirm her identity, authorities said.
• Her sister and husband were shocked and relieved to hear she was alive.

The family of a woman who was believed to be dead after vanishing several decades ago is shocked and relieved to hear she was found alive in Puerto Rico.  

Patricia Kopta, who went missing in Pittsburgh in 1992, was later declared legally dead by authorities. In fact, she had been found wandering the streets of northern Puerto Rico in 1999 and now lives in a nursing home on the Caribbean island, according to a news conference this week in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. 

Once a street preacher in Pittsburgh known as "The Sparrow,"  Kopta began to reveal details of her past after years in Puerto Rico, CBS Pittsburgh reported, and staff at the nursing home made contact with Pennsylvania authorities who were able to "connect the dots." 

DNA samples were able to confirm her identity, Ross Township police said.

—Chris Hoffman (@NewsmanChris) March 2, 2023

Kopta, who is now 83, is diagnosed with dementia, and before leaving Pennsylvania, doctors said she was showing some signs of schizophrenia, the Associated Press reported.

"She was concerned she was going to be institutionalized," authorities said Friday. "Which is what we believe led her to decide to flee the country."

Her husband Bob Kopta, who said they had been married for over 20 years, said at the conference, "You wouldn't believe what we've been through, it's such a relief to know she's alive."

Her husband, now 86, said he had previously asked a psychic about her whereabouts and put advertisements in newspapers to try and find her, per NBC News. 

Her surviving sister Gloria Smith said, "Shock. I didn't believe it. Total shock," when she learned the news, according to CBS Pittsburgh. 

Smith, who is 78, told the Associated Press in an interview that her sister often went to Puerto Rico with her friends before she got married. 

"She just loved the ocean, the beach, the warm sunshine," Smith said. Smith added that she would like to go to the island to visit.

"Whether she knows me or not, I still want to see her and give her a hug and tell her I love her," she said.