On April 11, 1981, fifteen-year-old Barbara Louise Cotton disappeared while walking home in Williston, North Dakota. She had just finished dinner and set out into the evening for what should have been a short, familiar walk. She never arrived. In the years that followed, her case was often dismissed as a runaway, leaving her family with few answers and a story that never fully settled.
In A Better Search for Barbara, journalist James Wolner returns to one of North Dakota’s longest-running cold cases. What began as a short series grew into a far deeper investigation, stretching across decades and state lines. Through interviews, records, and newly uncovered testimony, the story unfolds piece by piece, following a search that has never truly ended.
Publisher
Dakota Spotlight | True Crime Podcast by James Wolner
A Better Search for Barbara (22): Case Update 2024 - New Testimony
More than forty years after Barbara Cotton disappeared, new testimony continues to shape the investigation. The search moves forward, one piece at a time. And it is not over yet.
Connect with Lisa Jo and the #FindBarbCotton Movement:
Email: findbarbcotton@gmail.com
Website: https://findbarbcotton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/findbarbcotton/
Instagram: @findbarbcotton
TikTok: @findbarbcotton
Bluesky: @findbarbcotton.bsky.social
Music by Wowza in Kalamazoo: https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/
A Better Search for Barbara is a Dakota Spotlight investigation, part of the documentary style true crime podcast created by investigative journalist James Wolner.
Support Dakota Spotlight
Get episodes early and ad free with Spotlight PLUS
https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus
Explore more Dakota Spotlight investigations
https://dakotaspotlight.com
Contact: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com
Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Mar 2026
A Better Search for Barbara (21): But, I Saw Barb Cotton! - Alleged Sighting
A witness recalls seeing Barbara Cotton after she was believed gone. The account is quiet, but difficult to ignore. It raises new questions about what may have happened after she vanished from Williston.
Music by Wowza in Kalamazoo: https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/
A Better Search for Barbara is a Dakota Spotlight investigation, part of the documentary style true crime podcast created by investigative journalist James Wolner.
Support Dakota Spotlight
Get episodes early and ad free with Spotlight PLUS
https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus
Explore more Dakota Spotlight investigations
https://dakotaspotlight.com
Contact: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com
Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Mar 2026
A Better Search for Barbara (20): Lost Suicide Note - Stacey Werder Death
The circumstances surrounding Stacey Werder’s death are revisited, including questions about a reported suicide note. The story remains unsettled. And the questions remain.
Music by Wowza in Kalamazoo: https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/
A Better Search for Barbara is a Dakota Spotlight investigation, part of the documentary style true crime podcast created by investigative journalist James Wolner.
Support Dakota Spotlight
Get episodes early and ad free with Spotlight PLUS
https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus
Explore more Dakota Spotlight investigations
https://dakotaspotlight.com
Contact: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com
Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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