The Vanishing of Nan Dixon

Nevada Grandmother Missing Over Four Decades

Tunnel Camp ghost town, Seven Troughs Range, Looking W/NW, Pershing Co., NV, 25 March 2013, Creative Commons Images courtesy of QKC at Wikimedia

Nancy "Nan" Cecile Dixon was born August 4, 1905, in Charlottesville City, Virginia. She was the eldest of nine children. Nan was tiny at 4'10" and only 118lbs. Her family describes her as "strong and lively" even at 72 years of age.She is noted as being generous and kind. She twice won 100 steaks in a local radio show contest, and gave the first order of said steaks to people in need. She made her home in Grass Valley, CA, with her third husband, Bob. She knew how to drive but typically avoided it when she could. Nan felt lonely in her old age and often asked her brother why he didn't visit her.

Nan Dixon, ca 1978, courtesy of NamUs

Disappearance

In 1961, Nan's brother Harry and his wife, Lula, leased property in Seven Troughs, NV. They were some of the only residents left in the wildly remote mining community. Harry and his brother, Dan, planned to open a gold mining operation and asked the other siblings to help fund the business venture.

Nan graciously loaned $6,000 to her brothers. However, nothing came of the mine, and no one paid Nan back. This, understandably, caused turmoil in the family. So much so that Nan and Harry didn't speak until their brother Paul's funeral in 1976.

After years of arguments and hurt feelings, the Leighton family decided to forgive the debt for the sFake of keeping the peace.

Looking northwest from Signal Peak to the ghost town of Seven Troughs, Pershing Co., NV. Courtesy QKC.

Nan made plans to visit her brother in the remote town of Seven Troughs, Nevada. She begged her husband to accompany her on the trip so she wouldn't need to drive, but he refused. She asked her friend Martha to join her on the road trip, but she had other plans. On September 21, 1978, Nan tossed a tote full of clothes, a hand-drawn map into her lime-green 1976 Datsun B210 Sedan and made the trip alone.

The lonely three-hour drive was a small price to pay to see her brother. Nan stopped in Boomtown, NV, to have dinner. She then purchased $4.18 of gas at a Texaco station in Lovelock, NV. Then, she vanished into thin air.

It didn't take long for Nan's family to realize that she was missing. Her family and law enforcement scoured the desert but were unable to locate any trace of Nan. Rumors of foul play were rampant, but there were no substantial leads.

A Possible Break

Four years passed without any developments in the case. On a crisp Thanksgiving morning in 1982, coyote hunters discovered Nan's vehicle on an unused road near the Eagle Picher Mine. The car was rusted and infested with pack rats. The vehicle had half a tank of gas in it. Scuffed tires and a burnt-out clutch indicated that the driver veered off the road into the ditch and became stuck.

Nan's Car from NaMUS

Law enforcement officers found several pieces of evidence they believed were signs of foul play. A single strand of gray hair found on the steering wheel had what officers assumed was human tissue on it. They also discovered a roll and a single length of electrical tape inside the Datsun.

This lead investigators to suspect that Nan was forcefully bound. There appeared to be stains on the trunk liner and the tire rim, which investigators assumed were blood. Police found several empty diet cola bottles outside of the vehicle, as well as empty cartons of cigarettes that were not Nan's brand.

The missing person case was shaping up to be a death investigation as far as Pershing County Sheriffs were concerned. An extensive search for Nan or her remains ensued, but Nan remains missing.

There are no suspects in the Nan Dixon case. Facts that would have helped the investigation are only now coming to light. Unfortunately, the car was auctioned off, and evidence recovered by the police was lost.

Popular Theorie

This theory stems from a rumor that Nan's trip was to recover the $6000 she loaned her brothers Harry and Dan. Nan's husband certainly would have accompanied her on such a confrontation. She was just 4'10" tall and didn't stand a chance in a physical altercation. True, Nan did arm herself for the trip. However, she was a petite female traveling solo through the desert. The weapon helped her feel a little more secure.

Nan's family members in Seven Troughs were all of advanced age and lived with various health issues. Still, they assisted in the search and even offered a reward to the people who found Nan's car.

The family reconciled the 17-year-old loan long before Nan's visit. Again, Nan often talked about how she missed her siblings and desired a closer relationship with them. That was the point of her trip.

Harry's son, Butch, has been mentioned by Leighton descendants as a potential suspect in Nan's death. He was a shady character, to be sure, with a temper and a criminal record. However, there is nothing concrete that points to any involvement in Nan's disappearance.

Victim

As with any wilderness area in America, there have been bodies found in Seven Troughs' general vicinity. Nan's family waited patiently as DNA testing excluded Nan as a potential unidentified Jane Doe found in the area. These separate deaths were isolated incidents with no commonality other than the location of the deceased. It is in the realm of possibility that Nan met with foul play, but not the most likely of scenarios.

Nan's behavior before her disappearance was not that of a woman who wished to end her life. Firstly, she asked two people to accompany her, which would make no sense if she intended to end her life. She did not enjoy driving, and this particular trip would have been a rough solo trip for an older woman.

Journalists and law enforcement officials report that Nan penned a note which suggested Nan ended her life. This incomplete, somewhat cryptic letter found at the car was only partially readable at the time. Handwriting and restorative experts have been able to give a complete translation of the partial letter. What remains of the tattered note reads as follows:

"…keeps telling me to get the gun and end my nightmares, but this I'll never do. God gives life, only God can take life. Committing your own [censored] is the unbearable shame, and I'll never be left by a just God far from habitation with a beat in my heart…"

The note states that she would not take her own life; Nan Dixon wanted to live.

A Survival Situation

Nan Dixon was a 72-year-old, incredibly petite, arthritic woman with a hernia. The area where hunters found her car was searched by air and by land four years prior. This fact led investigators to believe someone planted the Datsun at the location. The remoteness of the area cannot be understated. The site is vast and desolate. The lime green car, peppered with rust and tucked into the shadow of a hill, created such a seamless camouflage in the desert terrain, searchers missed it completely.

Stains in and on the car tested negative for blood, according to the evidence reports. The empty soda cans and cartons of cigarettes suggest Nan might have had car trouble. Perhaps she ran her car off the road, into a ravine. If Nan became stuck in the sand somehow, her efforts to drive the car out would have buried the tires even deeper and cause her to burn out the clutch.

If Nan became stuck in the desert, she decided to stay put in hopes of a rescue. She drank soda to keep herself hydrated. Nan was a light smoker, but she likely would have chain-smoked since smoking would have made her feel less hungry.

As for the note, it is reasonable to think Nan spent her time writing down her account of what happened. When she became hopeless, she wrote about her fears and her faith.

When the soda and cigarettes ran out, Nan likely ventured away from her vehicle searching for help. Recently, the father-daughter YouTube team, EploreWithUs, located an empty bottle of diet cola approximately one and a half miles from where Nan's car was found. It appears she made it that far and likely passed away.

The fact that coyote hunters found her car suggests there were predatory coyotes in the area and enough that hunters would make an effort to destroy them. Nan would be 115 years old. She will not be found alive. The harsh desert and predatory animals would have reclaimed Nan's human remains.

Aftermath

Nan's family never gave up in their search. To date, they have spent over $40,000 to hire private detectives and even psychics to bring Nan home. Older women who go missing are grossly under-reported in the media. Let Nan's story be a caution. Visit the elderly folks in your life, and make sure they aren't lonely. Offer to travel with them if you are able. This case is a tale of good intentions and bad decisions that ultimately resulted in the vanishing of a woman who was very much loved.

If you have any information regarding Nan Dixon's disappearance, please contact Pershing County, NV Sherrif Office. Special thanks to ExploreWithUs for keeping Nan's case alive.

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Sources

Nan's Find a Grave Memorial

Nan on The Doe Network

Nan on NamUS

ExploreWithUs

Nan's Nephew Speaks