meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

A Better Search for Barbara (15): Kidnappings and Cults, Falcons and Dogs – Investigating the Barbara Cotton Cold Case

Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

James Wolner

Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime

4.8900 Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2021

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Barbara Louise Cotton’s 1981 disappearance in Williston remains an unsolved murder that continues to spark theories both local and far-reaching. Episode 15, Kidnappings and Cults, Falcons and Dogs, investigates claims of cult activity, kidnapping, and even unusual international links. Alongside these theories, parallels are drawn to The Mailman Who Disappeared (Brevbäraren som försvann). A Better Search for Barbara continues this real crime investigation into one of the Midwest’s most perplexing unsolved mysteries. Music by Wowza in Kalamazoo: https://wowzainkalamazoo.bandcamp.com/ Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey folks, it's James here, host and producer of this show, Dakota Spotlight.

0:03.8

I've got some exciting news to share with you.

0:06.4

I've just launched a brand new podcast called The Sleep Retreat.

0:11.6

The Sleep Retreat is designed to help you relax, unwind, and drift off to sleep.

0:17.1

With soothing soundscapes and calming original stories by yours truly, it's the perfect escape for a busy mind.

0:25.1

You can find The Sleep Retreat wherever you listen to podcasts or head over to the sleepretreatpodcast.com.

0:54.6

You're listening to De Spotlight. My name is James Walner. This is episode 15 of season 5, a better search for Barbara Cotton. Dakota Spotlight is a production of forum communications. In this episode, we're going to explore a couple of alternative explanations for what might have happened to Barbara. Both of these explanations are possible in

1:00.2

theory. That is, they've been proven elsewhere to have taken place and been responsible for a missing

1:05.1

person's case. So, in other words, we will not be talking about UFO abductions or things that have

1:10.5

never been proven. The first thing we're not be talking about UFO abductions or things that have never been proven.

1:12.4

The first thing we're going to talk about is a disappearance that took place in 1976 on the other side of the world.

1:19.0

We'll meet a guy who wrote a book about it, and you'll find out, like I did, that there are some explanations for disappearances that we might never have considered.

1:36.3

After that, we're going to talk about the occult, devil's worship, and explore some ideas floating around that maybe Barbara was a victim of some kind of cult. I'm a huge skeptic of all of this, but it certainly appears that there was a group of satanic worshippers in Williston around the time Barbara went missing.

1:45.1

In fact, several people have reached out to me about this over the last few months.

1:48.9

And then, to my surprise, I found some information on it.

1:52.0

Then, through coincidence or maybe something else, I realized it is possible to connect some

1:56.9

dots, allegedly, from Barbara Cotton, all the way to some other deaths and murders

2:01.7

elsewhere. This is all very, very fuzzy, and some people might say very far-fetched. One of those

2:08.1

people is me, myself. I think it's far-fetched, at least in regards to having anything to do

2:13.4

with Barbara Cotton's disappearance. But some things have popped up recently that make me feel like I really do need to tell

2:19.4

you about all of this.

2:32.2

Let's travel to the country of Sweden to explore other ways people might disappear.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from James Wolner, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of James Wolner and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.