EPISODE 361: Barbara Cotton Part 1 - A Lost Girl

On April 11, 1981, a 15-year-old girl named Barbara Cotton disappeared from Williston, North Dakota. Barbara's mother, Louise, called around to her friends to see if they had seen her, but no one said they had. Louise reported her daughter missing to the Williston Police Department and sent any tips she heard their way. The weeks and months passed with no sign of Barbara, and her case went ice cold. It didn't seem like much was being done to find Barb, at least to her loved ones; that is how it appeared. Perhaps she had run away? As with many missing teens in that era, that was often the assumption. Decades later, there is now a renewed effort to find Barbara Cotton and answer the many questions that linger today.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Barbara Cotton, 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.

EPISODE 360: Case Update - Finding Lillianna Pagano

Three years ago, we brought you the story of Lillianna Pagano, who had been abducted by her mother, Jillanne, when Lillianna was an infant. A few days before airing our story on Lillianna, we received word that she had been found alive and was reunited with her father, Tyler, a completely unexpected surprise. While this was the ending we hope for in every story, Tyler and Lillianna still had a rough road ahead of them. Lillianna had been missing for nearly six years and was told her father was dead. We recently checked in with Tyler to see how Lillianna is doing with her dad today and what they’ve been through together since they were reunited in June of 2019.

EPISODE 359: Toby Anderson

16-year-old Toby Anderson had found himself in some trouble during his teen years. Toby’s life wasn’t easy, and he began to act out. Toby was sent to a juvenile facility in Northern California and was shifted around between different family members. Then, he just disappeared, and everyone seemed to believe Toby had run away. Since Toby had been in trouble, running away didn’t seem far-fetched. Toby’s father searched for him and contacted relatives in other states to see if he had turned up there, but he never did. Then, Toby’s dad died, and not much was done to look for him. Decades later, a cousin took an interest in finding Toby. She learned that some of what she had been told about Toby couldn’t be true, and what she began to uncover was truly horrifying.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Toby Anderson, please contact the Oregon State Police at (541) 776-6236.