Katharina Buczek
Jan Cotta was raised on a horse farm in Wall Township, New Jersey, as one of eight siblings. According to her brother, Jay, it was the “purest” upbringing anyone could get.
“We fought like normal kids. We grew up very happy, and we didn’t have much,” recalled Jan’s sister, Robin Wilson.
Throughout her life, Jan relished being surrounded by horses. She became an accomplished equestrian, winning numerous awards and even acting as a substitute for the U.S. equestrian team.
She had attended the Princeton Riding Academy and gave riding lessons on her family’s property. Jan also did not drink or use drugs, and she was known to be a smart young woman.
Yet, on the evening of June 26, 1973, everything changed for the Cotta family when 19-year-old Jan mysteriously disappeared.
That night, one of her brothers, Brian, was hanging out with a friend when they heard strange noises coming from their family’s barn. To him, it sounded like a horse had been kicking something. This led Brian and his friend to walk to the barn, and they found the tack room’s light was on.
Upon entering the room, Brian saw his sister just sitting there.
“I went back up to where my sister was, and she asked me to leave because the guy she was seeing at the time pulled in. And we left,” he remembered.
Afterward, Jan allegedly entered the man’s vehicle and drove away sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, and she was never seen or heard again.
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