Multi-state effort aims to find missing Nebraska woman
TABLE ROCK, NE — It’s been about nine months since anyone last saw Linda Dillard.
The Nebraska State Patrol has been investigating her disappearance from the Table Rock area since she was reported missing in June last year. Thursday, that search continued as agencies from multiple states came to the Table Rock Wildlife Management Area to try to find any sign of her.
Family members meanwhile continue to hold out for positive news.
"You know it's hard, but it's something I have to continue to deal with and have hope for." Dillard's daughter Winterstar Schaber said.
On foot, in a UTV or even on horseback, crews from Nebraska and Kansas tried to find any leads to point them toward what might have happened to Dillard. Thursday marked the beginning of a three-day long search of the area.
Nebraska State Patrol Lieutenant Eric Jones says it's the largest organized search in the case to date.
"We want to find Linda, we want to find what happened to her," he said. "We're still asking the public to share with us any information they have that would lead to the whereabouts of Linda."
Dillard was reported missing on June 16, 2021. Last seen in the rural Table Rock area, NSP investigators believe she may have been the victim of a crime which led to her disappearance.
"Specifically as part of our search today, we're looking for clothing, bones, skeletal remains, weapons, electronics and anything else we might find that we think is pertinent to our investigation," Jones said.
While authorities have looked through the Table Rock WMA before, they say the area is easier to search in the Winter than Summer.
"We wanted to make sure the crops were out of the fields, that the foliage was off the trees and the grass was beat down by the Winter," Jones said. "We were out here in July, and several other times in the fall, but as you can imagine, the grass was high, the corn was tall and it wasn't conducive to doing a thorough search of the area."
Schaber said she is thankful for everyone still working to find her mom.
"I have faith in the universe that's showed me multiple signs she's still looking after me and my family even if she's not here," she said.
Anyone with any information on Dillard's whereabouts is asked to contact the Nebraska State Patrol at 402-471-4545 or Nebraska Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-1494.
At the time of her disappearance, Dillard was 55-years-old. She is described as 5'10", 130 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.