The boyfriend of a Dakota County woman missing since last weekend is the focus of the investigation into her disappearance, officials said Thursday.
Nicole “Nikki” Irene Anderson, 56, of Randolph Township was last seen about 10 a.m. Saturday walking from her home, the Sheriff’s Office said. Her family reported her missing two days later.
“She left her phone, wallet, glasses and medication behind, and has not been heard from since,” the Sheriff’s Office said in what it labeled as an “Endangered Missing Person Alert.”
On the day Anderson was reported missing, investigators searched her home, property and surrounding area using dogs, drones and helicopters, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
On Wednesday, investigators searched her 42-year-old boyfriend’s home in Randolph with a court’s permission and while he was not present, the statement continued.
The boyfriend is a “person of interest and [his] property was one that Ms. Anderson frequented,” according to the statement
The man, who was wanted in Le Sueur County for a probation violation stemming from a felony drug conviction in 2022, surrendered at his home shortly afterward and was questioned about Anderson’s whereabouts, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was booked into the Le Sueur County jail late Thursday morning.
Although the Sheriff’s Office identified the boyfriend in its statement, the Star Tribune generally does not name suspects before they are charged.
