The 53-year-old’s blood was found on the property where she was last seen Feb. 25.
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Brazos County, Texas, investigators looking for info about a utility vehicle possibly connected to disappearance of Nicole ‘Nikki’ Winder
Missing in America
“I wish she was here, and I wish she could experience all the things that life has to offer still,” Colten Winder told “Dateline.”
It’s been nearly six months since his mother, 53-year-old Nicole “Nikki” Winder, vanished in Brazos County, Texas, on Feb. 25.
Since then, Colten and the rest of Nikki’s family have been searching for answers and holding on to hope they will one day see her again.
Nikki Winder grew up in Bryan, Texas, and spent most of her life in Brazos County.
Her eldest son, Colten, describes her as a “firecracker.” He says she is loud, fun and always giving back — the kind of person who would “give you the shirt off her back.” He told “Dateline” she regularly invited people who were not family to holiday gatherings, making sure no one spent Christmas or Thanksgiving alone.
Colten says Nikki was a devoted mother to him and his younger brother, Coy. He says Nikki had been a single mother since he was 6; she never missed their games and did everything possible to ensure he and Coy had what they needed.
Throughout her life, Nikki faced significant health challenges. She had several back surgeries, and during Colten’s senior year of high school, she was diagnosed with renal cell kidney cancer.
“She didn’t tell anybody,” Colten said. “She didn’t want to scare us.” His mother has been in remission since 2014.
In December, months before she went missing, Nikki was diagnosed again — this time with skin cancer. But she “never stopped fighting, never,” Colten said.
That same determination now drives Nikki’s family as they continue to search for answers.
“We’re never gonna stop fighting till we find her and get justice for her,” Colten vowed.
Colten says he last spoke to his mom on Feb. 24. The next day, he called her. “She didn’t answer,” he said. He wasn’t worried initially since he figured she may have been busy at work. Nikki worked in home healthcare. “I really didn’t think anything of it,” he said.
Later that day, still unable to reach his mom, Colten became increasingly concerned. Then his uncle called and said the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office had reached out about Nikki’s truck, which had been found on fire. Colten says he followed up with the sheriff’s office, which confirmed the information about the truck and informed him that Nikki was nowhere to be found. “They didn’t know any other details,” he said.
“Dateline” spoke with the Brazos County sheriff’s public information officer, Deputy Nathan Dennis, who shared that the department has searched thousands of acres and numerous properties in connection with her case. They’ve deployed drones, K-9 teams, third-party search organizations, search parties and a helicopter. Those efforts have not located Nikki.
Deputy Dennis says locating both the Polaris and whoever was driving it is still “very high” on their priority list. They’d like to “be able to put that puzzle piece kind of together” and see if that person had any role in Nikki’s disappearance.
“Our investigators are still talking, doing interviews, following up on information that comes in,” Dennis said. Investigators have considered multiple scenarios for what might have happened to Nikki in February. “We can’t say anything’s off the table.”
Dennis says the sheriff’s office has not publicly identified a suspect. “Because this remains an active investigation, we cannot discuss whether any particular person has been identified or considered a suspect by investigators,” he said. “I understand that it’s, you know, can be frustrating because there’s not a lot of information that we can share.” The priority remains resolving the case and finding Nikki. “We owe Nikki and her family answers — and our community.”
Nikki’s son Colten hopes people continue to talk about his mom and share information about her case. “Don’t stop saying her name,” he said. The family now wears bracelets that say “Justice for Nikki.” Members of the community have also started wearing the bracelets.
“Be her voice,” Colten said, “‘cause she doesn’t have a voice anymore.”
