Georgia Darlene Nolan

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Kentucky State Police Post 10 (KY)

Missing From:

Harlan, Kentucky

Summary:

Georgia Darlene Nolan was a woman who disappeared in 1976. She was last seen on November 25, 1976 in Harlan, Kentucky, accompanied by her estranged husband, and they were en route to Chicago, Illinois. According to her husband, they got separated during the journey. Foul play is suspected in Nolan's disappearance. Her Social Security number has not been used since 1976. Her case remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Nolan had a troubled marriage prior to her disappearance. She separated from her husband shortly before the last of her four children was born and moved from her husband's home in Chicago to Kentucky, where she grew up. Nolan's husband came to Kentucky a few months later and they decided to reconcile. They dropped their youngest child, then two months old, off at her husband's mother's house and began the journey back to Chicago. They were on the way there when Nolan disappeared. In November 1976, Georgia's husband picked her up from her brother's home, claiming that they were going to a restaurant. However, she never returned. Her husband was inconsistent in his explanations of what happened. He claimed that they were heading back to Chicago and that Georgia had left him on the interstate. She was reported missing by her brother on November 28.

Additional Details:

Denver Patrick Nolan was never questioned about her whereabouts or his involvement with her disappearance. Her family never knew she was missing until six months later and they immediately reported it to the authorities. Her brothers thought that she was in Chicago during this six month time span. However, her first husband's family had been told the day after she actually disappeared that she had exited Denver's vehicle on the interstate between Kentucky and Indiana during a heated argument. The Mitchells and the Pruitts were estranged from each other during this time span due to the bitter divorce and never had the opportunity to compare stories until years later. By that time all evidence or information was considered tainted in the investigation. Shortly after Nolan's disappearance, her husband filed papers charging Nolan with child abandonment and naming his mother as the next of kin. His mother got temporary custody of the couple's children while Nolan's husband was working in Chicago, In 1980, Nolan's husband returned to Kentucky and filed for divorce. Last year the family was granted with a dig in a spot where they thought she could have possibly been buried. However, this dig yielded no results and they are still in the process of searching for answers. DNA: mtDNA & nucDNA available at University of North Texas.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 03, 2026