Wow! What an absolutely crazy story. This isn't something that The Atlantic typically publishes, it's just straightforward entertainment. Koerner is a very good writer, and I'm happy he found this awesome story to write about. From believing it was the "People's Liberation Army of Mexico" to thinking it was the Patterson's themselves to it actually just being this craxy ex-Army guy was quite a ride.
I can't believe that Boby Joe Keesee evaded prison for so long. Being a solder (and especially having been captive in Vietnam) certainly gave him a cache that various juries looked over. It's easy now to look at it retrospectively and say he was insane, but when you are on a jury, you have to be 100% sure to convict somebody. he was very good at manipulating people to avoid prison for so long.

John Patterson was abducted in 1974 while serving as an American diplomat in Mexico. Ransom letters were received from the "People's Liberation Army of Mexico," a group that nobody had previously heard about. Although it seemed like a typical occurrence that was rising in frequency those days, it turned out to be something else entirely. Koerner writes about this gripping story half a century later, where all the details are exposed for a satisfying conclusion.