In September of 1978, Nan Cecile Dixon, a 73-year-old woman, embarked on a journey from her home in Grass Valley, California, to visit family in the remote area of Seven Troughs, Nevada, near Lovelock. The purpose of her trip was to discuss a $6,000 investment she had made years earlier in her brother's gold mining operation. She was driving her distinctive yellow and green 1976 Datsun B210 and was equipped with a hand-drawn map and her husband's. 22 handgun for protection.
After having dinner in Boomtown, Nevada, and purchasing a small amount of gas in Lovelock, she seemingly vanished. When she failed to arrive at her brother's home, her concerned family promptly reported her missing, initiating a search that would span years and yield more questions than answers.
For four years, extensive searches by air and ground revealed no trace of Nan or her vehicle, deepening the mystery of her disappearance. The first significant break in the case came in November 1982, when coyote hunters stumbled upon her Datsun in a ravine on the Eagle Picher mining property, an area that had been previously searched. The car's condition was perplexing; it had a half tank of gasoline, and though the tires were scuffed, they still held air. Investigators found tire tracks suggesting the vehicle had been deliberately driven off the road and into the gully. Inside the car, troubling evidence was discovered, including four empty cartons of cigarettes of a brand Nan didn't smoke, pieces of black electrical tape with a hair and what appeared to be human tissue attached, and possible bloodstains on the trunk mat and a tire rim. An unsigned note was also found, which some interpreted as indicating suicide, a conclusion her family vehemently rejected, believing it was planted.
Despite the discovery of her car and the unsettling evidence within, Nan Dixon's whereabouts remain unknown. The initial investigation by the Pershing County Sheriff's Department concluded her case was a probable suicide, and her car was subsequently sold at a sheriff's auction, resulting in the loss of all physical evidence. However, Nan's family has always maintained that she met with foul play, spending over $40,000 on private investigators and psychics in their tireless search for answers. Theories about her disappearance are varied, with some speculating she may have witnessed illegal drug activity in the area and was silenced. The investigation into her case was officially reopened in 2007, but with no new leads or evidence, it has grown cold. The case of Nan Cecile Dixon is a haunting story of a woman who set out on a simple family visit and vanished, leaving behind a trail of puzzling clues but no definitive explanation for her fate.Last Seen: Sep 22, 1978
