Patneau served as a CIA officer, publicly posing as an employee of the U.S. State Department. On September 29, 2008, Patneau was involved in a car accident in Yemen, sustaining severe injuries. He was transferred to The London Clinic in England, where he died on October 4, 2008. U.S. officials denied al-Qaida claims linking his death to an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa earlier that month.[5] Patneau's association with the CIA was publicly revealed in 2012, when he was honored as the 103rd entry in the CIA's Book of Honor. A star was added to the CIA Memorial Wall at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, during the annual memorial ceremony on May 22, 2012. Then-CIA Director David Petraeus praised his service.[6][7][8] His family received financial support from the CIA after his death.[9]