Seattle Man Reportedly Receives Ransom Note for Return of Missing Mother

A Seattle man whose mother disappeared last year reportedly received a ransom note demanding $250,000 for her safe return.

Patty Krieger disappeared on Oct. 2, 2010, while hiking with friends on Sauk Mountain. She has not been seen since. But on Sunday, an email declaring "Patty is alive" was sent to an account created for tips related to Krieger's disappearance, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

"Patty is alive though seem depressed lately and need you to decide her fate by picking any of these below options," the email read. "OPTION A: Do you miss her more than you would miss your hardly earned $250,000 if yes,making available the money within the next 12 hours will have you reunited together well alive. OPTION B: You can forward this email to the Police/Fbi to continue their fruitless investigations and be rest assured that you shall meet again in hell."

The email, which was signed by "the keeper," also offered to mail a finger as proof Krieger remained in custody. It instructed the recipient to send the funds to a person in Ghana, a common point of origin for online scams.

Alan Patterson, Krieger's son, said he quickly realized the message was a scam. And although he doesn't believe his mother is still alive, he intends to keep searching.

"With the amount of time that's passed, it's hard to wrap my head around and get my hopes up that I could see her again," he told the newspaper.

Click here for more on this report from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.