March 10, 2025 | By: Jasper Rosas 

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Nonnie Dotson was a 33-year-old Air Force Lieutenant and a Military nurse who was visiting her brother in Littleton, Colorado, just outside of Denver. She left her brother’s house on November 19, 2006, and has not been seen since. She left behind a 14-month-old daughter, and her case remains unsolved.

Nonnie was born on June 29, 1973, alongside her twin brother, Beau. Nonnie enjoyed baking and country dancing growing up. Her baking specialty was desserts; she made countless creations that her family would devour. Her childhood was not perfect; she was diagnosed with cancer at age 8. Nonnie took the news in stride. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll go through with the surgery,” said Nonnie to her mother, Candice. Despite being originally terrified of the surgery, Nonnie fought her hardest to battle through both the operation and the recovery, and she survived.

Nonnie started working at the age of 15 and spent time in high school working at a nursing home. This experience inspired her to enroll in nursing school, and she paid for it herself. After being an average student throughout school, Nonnie “turned the corner in college,” according to Candice. Upon graduating college, she began working at a hospital at the University of Colorado, where she spent multiple years working in the transplant unit. Nonnie was always volunteering and had a big heart. She always wanted to help people. Working in the transplant unit in the University Hospital, she was a big advocate for people donating their organs.

Nonnie then followed in her parents’ footsteps and enlisted in the military. She joined the Air Force and hoped the money would pay off her college debt. With her nursing degree, Nonnie went in as an officer and was stationed at the Lackland Air Force Base in Bexar County, Texas. At the time of her disappearance, Nonnie was just a few months away from being discharged.

According to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report, Nonnie was on leave in Colorado on November 19, 2006. She left her brother’s home in Littleton, Colorado on foot, saying she was walking to a nearby shopping center, and never returned.

After no one had heard from her overnight, her family decided to file a missing person’s report. However, according to Candice, the police brushed her family off, saying she would be back shortly and indicating it was no big deal. “Nothing is going to be done, she’s an adult,” Candice said she was told by police. “I had a gut feeling to go look for her in the blizzard,” said Candice. After the family search was unsuccessful and the police were unwilling to begin an investigation, Nonnie’s family decided to go to the media for more support. Not only had she left her baby daughter behind, she also failed to return to active duty, and the return portion of her flight back to Texas went unused.

Despite offering a cash reward for any evidence and organizing their own search team, there was no progress made, and the case went cold. The cash reward still stands, though, and the family continues to wait for answers.

“It affects you to your core,” Candice told Channel 9 News in San Antonio, Texas several years ago. “It affects you to your soul. It changes you as a person. You lose part of your heart … and you never get it back.”

Candice stated that on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance the family held a memorial in San Antonio, Texas as well as in Colorado. Annually the family releases balloons in her memory.

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Anyone with information concerning Nonnie Dotson’s disappearance is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at (303) 271-0211. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call the tip line at (303)271-5612.

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