Remains found nearly 20 years ago identified as escaped inmate living under alias

BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - Remains found by hunters in Alabama nearly 20 years ago have finally been identified as an inmate who walked away from a detention facility before living under an alias.

Officials said the remains belonged to Patrick Grayson Spann from Mississippi.

Spann had escaped from the Hinds County detention facility in 1998.

His remains were found in October 2005 off Highway 31 near Garden City.

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said Spann had been living under the name Chad Patrick Singleton.

A gun and a driver’s license belonging to a woman were recovered with Spann’s remains.

The woman listed on the driver’s license was interviewed and revealed her partner, Chad Patrick Singleton, had taken her identification and abruptly vanished a year prior.

Further investigation revealed the name “Chad Singleton” belonged to a man who died in 1995.

The case was reopened in 2024, and it was discovered that the man known as Chad Singleton had two biological daughters while he was living in Blountsville.

The District Attorney’s Office submitted DNA evidence of one of the daughters for genetic genealogy testing to identify and locate possible relatives and lead authorities to the man’s true identity.

A possible biological son was found.

Spann’s identification was made possible by investigative genetic genealogical research performed by Moxxy Forensic Investigations which was hired by Casey.

DNA testing positively identified the remains to be that of Spann by using the comparison of DNA profiles obtained from a tooth extracted from the remains and that of his potential biological son. The confirmation was made by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Spann assumed the alias after he escaped from the detention facility in 1998 where he had been serving two years for possession of cocaine. Spann had been living on Overlook Road in Blountsville, Alabama, under the alias for approximately seven years.

According to witnesses, Spann left the home one day in October 2004 and never returned. The vehicle Spann was reportedly driving was eventually recovered behind a barn off Bangor Hollow Road.

“Patrick Grayson Spann’s remains have been released to his family in Mississippi for proper burial. But, this does not conclude the investigation into his death. State and local law enforcement will continue to pursue and follow leads until all remaining questions surrounding his death have been resolved. I ask anyone who has information pertaining to the disappearance and death of Patrick Grayson Spann a/k/a Chad Patrick Singleton to contact the Blount County District Attorney’s Office,” Casey said.

Additionally, according to Casey, over 100 unidentified remains are in the custody of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Casey is currently using investigative genealogical research to try to resolve three other cold cases. To date, unknown DNA has been identified in two of those three cases. Those investigations are still pending.

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