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Minnesota cold case: New reward offered in 1987 disappearance of Wadena woman
Police announced a new $25,000 reward Monday in hopes of finding Carla Anderson, who disappeared from Wadena in Nov. 1987. Anderson’s family and police have searched for answers for nearly 40 years, following thousands of leads.
WADENA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Police are renewing efforts to solve the decades-old disappearance of Carla Anderson with a new reward and a plea for information.
Family and community remember Carla Anderson’s disappearance
What we know:
Carla Anderson was 23 years old when she vanished from her home at the Greenwood Apartments in Wadena on Nov. 13, 1987. Police found signs she made it home that night, with no evidence of a struggle.
Anderson’s family has aged over the years, but her memory remains vivid. "Just fiercely independent, loved living on her own, making her own money, doing her own thing," said Dan Anderson, Carla’s brother.
Her mother and stepfather last saw her when they brought her home that November night. The next day, Anderson did not show up for work at Hardee’s, where she had just been named employee of the month.
Wayne Wolden, her manager at Hardee’s and a future Wadena mayor, remembered her fondly. "Carla is just an exemplary bubbly, happy, just joyous individual who just brought so many smiles to everybody, employees and customers alike," he said.
Police say Anderson was 4 feet, 10 inches tall, about 80 pounds and had a mild intellectual disability. Investigators do not believe she would have chosen to disappear on her own.
Wadena police and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have followed thousands of leads over the years. They eliminated family members as suspects and interviewed Floyd Tapson, a suspected serial killer who targeted developmentally challenged young women, but the case remains unsolved.
The search for answers and hope for closure
The backstory:
Anderson’s disappearance has left her family with decades of uncertainty and pain.
"My mom, she was pretty convinced shortly after she disappeared that she was no longer with us. And for myself, it's like you think back and you go, well, did somebody take her? Do they have her somewhere else? Is she alive?" said Dan Anderson.
Police are not giving up hope.
"Someone knows what happened. Someone knows," said Chief Naomi Plautz of the Wadena Police Department.
On Monday, authorities announced a new $25,000 reward for information that leads to finding Anderson, hoping this incentive will prompt someone to come forward before time runs out for those who remember her.
The community continues to hope for answers, with police and family members urging anyone with information to help bring closure to a case that has haunted Wadena for nearly four decades.
What we don't know:
Authorities have not revealed any new suspects or evidence, and it remains unclear what happened to Carla Anderson after she arrived home in 1987.
The Source: FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard spoke with multiple sources for information contained in this story.