JoAnne "Dolly" Burmer Missing 44 Years

The only known photograph of

JoAnne before she vanished in a snowstorm,

leaving her 3 year-old son behind.

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

ON February 25, 1973, 25 year-old JoAnne Dolly Burmer of Colfax vanished in Nevada City, California. JoAnne decided to attempt a hike through the snow to a friend's cabin. She knew the task would be treacherous, so she left her 3 year-old in the care of friends, Mr. and Mrs. Iriman.  She was reported missing on March 8, 1973 by her friends of Colfax when she failed to make contact in regards to her baby, almost two weeks after she was last seen.The Sheriff launched a search for JoAnne, but waited until the snow had melted. He described the area where JoAnne was last known to be as "pretty rugged country," with it being a previous mining town. The extensive search of the area failed to turn up any evidence except a comb that was though to be hers.

JoAnne also went by the name JoAnne Dolly Norman. She was 25 years old at the time of her disappearance. In 1973, she was 135 pounds and 5'3" with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore glasses. She was last seen wearing a navy blue watch cap, two layers of clothes, black boots and show shoes at the time of her disappearance. She also had a backpack.

After pouring through other sources, I was able to answer a few questions I had. First, the date of her disappearance and age are listed differently on various sites. However, in a newspaper article that was written in 1973 about her disappearance, her age is listed at 25 and her date of disappearance is February 25, 1973. As you can tell, this story has a lot of holes in it that just did not make sense. First, what would compel JoAnne to leave her child behind while hiking to a cabin in what sounds like a snowstorm? Why do investigators assume foul play when it sounds like she could have easily perished in the snowstorm, making her a lost/injured person? Why did the friends who watched her son wait 2 weeks to report her missing?
From a Websleuths post with a member who knows JoAnne, it was discovered that the friend she was going to see was actually her boyfriend. He was the father of her 3 year-old son, and he was also married at the same time he was seeing JoAnne. JoAnne's backpack was later reported to be found at the cabin, but no other details are available as to what else was discovered or what became of her boyfriend. When questioned, the boyfriend claimed he never saw her, and it was only later that he was considered to be a person of interest.

An example of the rough terrain of Nevada City during winter time. JoAnne vanished in the area

while hiking to a cabin during a snowstorm.

The most popular theory for what happened the night JoAnne vanished is she met with foul play at the hands of someone she knew. It is possible she had an argument with her boyfriend, and this seems to be the most likely scenario. The initial theory was that she became lost or injured during her journey to the cabin, but nothing has ever been discovered to support that theory. If she had perished in the storm due to the elements, its is likely something would have resurfaced within the past 44 years. The third theory is she crossed paths with the Zodiac Killer. He was active during the 1960s to early 1970s within northern California. However, there is no evidence to support this theory, and there are not other missing persons cases that occurred in the area in the same time frame JoAnne vanished in (the 1960s-1970s).

Progress on the investigation remains unknown. No anniversary articles have been written, but JoAnne is still missing under suspicious circumstances. I wanted to spotlight her case to share extra information about her disappearance not listed elsewhere, and to also remind people JoAnne is still missing. Although she would be in her 70s today, and her son a grown man, she still deserves justice and her loved ones deserve some answers.

If you have any information on the disappearance of JoAnne Dolly Burmer, please contact

Nevada County Sheriff's Office

1-530-265-1471

Website:

www.mynevadacounty.com/nc/sheriff

Sources:
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/79170820/
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/960dfca.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?59474-CA-Jo-Anne-Burmer-25-Nevada-City-27-Feb-1973/page2&s=cb5fb0be7f88744aa01ab64269f00dff
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/burmer_jo.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27532/0/