Police were still without clues Saturday in the the disappearance of 33-year-old Nonnie Dotson, an Air Force nurse who was last seen six days ago near her brother’s home in Littleton.
Dotson – an intensive care nurse – told her family she was going to a neighborhood smoothie shop but hasn’t been seen since. She left behind her 16-month-old daughter, Savannah.
“I just can’t think of any situation where Nonnie would leave her daughter, at least not willingly,” her stepfather, Kevin Doyle, said Saturday.
Dotson’s cellphone and purse also are missing. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Air Force special investigation unit are investigating her disappearance. Meanwhile, Savannah was treated at a hospital Friday for a severe cold but was home Saturday.
Dotson was due to return to duty last Wednesday at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Doyle said. She arrived in Colorado Nov. 16 to visit her brother, Tony Dotson, and his wife.
The Sheriff’s Office has a hotline number for information about Dotson’s disappearance: 303-271-5612. “Someone, somewhere has seen her, and hopefully they will call in,” Doyle said.
COMMERCE CITY
Skull found in field turned in a day later
A man walking his dog on Thanksgiving found a human skull in a field but didn’t notify police right away because he said he didn’t want to disturb their holiday.
On Friday, the man turned the skull in to the Commerce City Police Department, then led investigators to the field, where they discovered more human bones.
The skull was examined by the Adams County coroner’s office, which believes it could belong to a male 21 years of age or older and may have been in the field for as short as four months or as long as one year.
“We have nothing telling us it’s a homicide,” Detective Mike Saunders said.
On Saturday, the remains remained unidentified and police are investigating the cause of death.
AURORA
Townhome blaze displaces 6 residents
Six residents of a townhome complex are temporarily without a home following an early-morning fire Friday.
Forty firefighters responded to the Dam East Townhomes on East Bethany Place, near South Parker Road and Interstate 225, shortly after 5 a.m., Aurora Fire Capt. Mike Ackerman said.
He said the fire started in a two-car garage on the back side of the townhomes. Eight units were threatened, and the fire spread into one unit. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
DENVER
Prostitution-ring suspects ordered held
Three people charged with running an interstate prostitution ring were ordered by a federal magistrate Friday to remain in custody until a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Wai Chong Kong, 38, and his wife, Kit Chi Ho, 43, both of Highlands Ranch, and Kah Poh Cheah, 28, of Thornton were arrested Tuesday. Authorities accused them of hiring women from Korea and Thailand to work in four brothels.
Two of the women told investigators they were charged up to $18,000 to be smuggled from Korea into the United States and were forced to continue working as prostitutes to pay it back.
LAKEWOOD
Police seek driver of red coupe that hit girl
Lakewood police are looking for the driver of a red compact car that hit a 10-year-old girl and fled Saturday.
The girl was crossing the street in the 1700 block of Kendall Avenue with friends when she was hit by the car about 4:30 p.m.
The girl, who was visiting from Texas, was treated for scrapes and bruises.
Police said the car was described by witnesses as an early-1990s Honda coupe with tinted windows and a black bumper and missing a side-view mirror.
SUNDANCE, Wyo.
Wildlife biologist puts target on urban deer
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is recommending hunting to help control growing urban deer populations.
Joe Sandrini, a Game and Fish wildlife biologist, said the problem of urban deer has gotten worse over the past few years. Wildlife biologists often suggest – for a start – that towns ban wildlife feeding.
To get rid of deer, Sandrini suggests hunting. He said relocation is often expensive and ineffective.
Rapid City, S.D., has had a successful, if controversial, urban-hunting program.
“I don’t think anybody wants to eliminate deer completely,” said Lon Van Deusen, the city’s parks manager. “The controversy here is, what is a manageable deer herd? I think it just depends on what the people population tolerates.”
