One night in the spring of 1981, a North Dakota teenager didn’t come home. Sometimes when it feels like someone has vanished into thin air, there are very few leads to go on. And for many of the decades that followed, that’s how this case appeared to people outside the local area. There was one clear last sighting of Barb, and then she was gone. But as the case was revisited and looked at more closely by her family, an investigative podcaster, and members of the community, it became clear that there had always been quiet talk about what may have happened to her. A mysterious boyfriend. A killer passing through town. And clues that pointed closer to home. In this episode, I talk through those pieces with Barb’s younger sister, Kathy, and share what has been uncovered, along with where the case stands today, 45 years later.

TIPS:Williston Police Department (North Dakota) 1-701-577-1212
Case suggestions: simplertimecrimepod@gmail.com
IG: @simplertimecrimepod
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@simplertimecrimepod?si=OlCWQ2Ky8qFaof02
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simplertimecrimep?_t=8s31x9iCrNv&_r=1
Music By Universfield: https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-dramatic-atmosphere-with-piano-and-violin-143149/
Thumbmail art: Lauren Kelty, host of True Crime BFF Podcast

Source Material:
Interview: Kathy N - Barb's sister
https://findbarbcotton.com/
https://dakotaspotlight.com/barbara-cotton-disappearance/
https://crimeblogger1983.blogspot.com/
https://charleyproject.org/case/barbara-louise-cotton
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83582081/stacey_demarr-werder
https://medium.com/@gabulosis/barbara-cotton-a-family-is-still-searching-for-answers-over-4-decades-later-31a52cabaf80
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bismarck-tribune-williston-woman-won/195052811/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dickinson-press-williston-woman-stil/195044356/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12197903/franklin_leonard-cotton
https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/796102/1

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-simpler-time-true-crime--6665681/support.