On April 11, 1981, 15-year-old Barbara Cotton vanished without a trace from Williston, North Dakota. Her mother, Louise, immediately began contacting Barbara’s friends, hoping to learn to find her. When no one had seen her, Louise reported her daughter missing to the Williston Police Department and passed along any tips she received. However, as the weeks and months passed, there was no sign of Barbara, and the case went cold. To those closest to her, it seemed as though little was being done to locate her, fueling their suspicions that the investigation was stagnant. The prevailing assumption at the time was that Barbara may have run away, a common conclusion for missing teens in that era.

However, decades later, the case remains unsolved, and there is now a renewed push to uncover the truth behind Barbara Cotton’s disappearance. Many questions remain unanswered, and the search for answers continues.

If you have any information about Barbara Cotton’s disappearance, please contact the Williston Police Department at 701-577-1212.

You can follow Barb’s story on social media at Find Barb Cotton. You can find more information at FindBarbCotton.com, and check out Dakota Spotlight wherever you get your podcasts.

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Replay: Barbara Cotton Part 1 - A Lost Girl

The Vanished Podcast