Police say she left East Lansing, Michigan on January 7. Cotter was seen later that day at a motel in Benton Harbor and someone saw her in Chesterton.
"He saw her vehicle there for a number of days on Monday. We did not find the vehicle until Wednesday. So having been a pedestrian in the area, walking his dog, whatever, traveling through the area also he saw the vehicle three days in a row," said Lt. David Cincoski, Chesterton Police Dept..
Investigators can't say yet if Cotter's death was an accident or if someone killed her.