Deputies search ex-boyfriend’s residence in case of missing Dakota County woman

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·2 min read

The search continues for a missing 56-year-old woman and the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday a man she knows is a person of interest in the case.

Nicole “Niki” Anderson was last seen walking away from her Randolph Township residence about 10 a.m. Saturday, her family reported to law enforcement on Monday. She’d gone out to check for the mail, said her brother, Troy Haro.

On Monday afternoon, “investigators conducted an extensive search of the home, property, and surrounding area on foot and by air, utilizing canines, drones, and helicopters,” the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday statement.

Investigators carried out a search warrant Wednesday at a 42-year-old man’s residence in Randolph, which was a place where Anderson spent time, but she wasn’t found, according to the sheriff’s office.

Haro said the 42-year-old man is Anderson’s former boyfriend and he stayed at the property, which he doesn’t own. The area is about two miles, as the crow flies, from where Anderson was last seen, Haro said.

The man had a probation violation warrant. He wasn’t home when deputies executed the search warrant, but turned himself in at the home soon afterward and was arrested on the warrant. Deputies questioned him about Anderson’s disappearance, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was booked into the Dakota County jail and then was transferred to the Le Sueur County jail on his warrant. The sheriff’s office noted that he is not being held related to Anderson’s disappearance.

The man had two Le Sueur County warrants issued in January 2023, both from methamphetamine possession cases, one of which he pleaded guilty to in 2022 and the other in 2020, court records show.

Anderson left her wallet, phone, glasses and medication behind, according to the sheriff’s office. She is a cancer survivor, Haro said.

“We’re thankful for everybody for all their prayers and thoughts,” he said Thursday.

Anderson was last seen wearing dark-colored pants, sandals and a long gray sweater/shirt. She is 5 feet 10 inches tall and 135 pounds.

“We continue our exhaustive efforts to locate Ms. Anderson,” the sheriff’s office statement said.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information to contact them at 651-438-TIPS or crimeandwarranttips@co.dakota.mn.us.

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