ONAMIA, Minn. — It has been a month to the day since a popular and highly-valued community doctor was struck and killed while walking her dogs along a central Minnesota highway. For a month the family of Dr. Cathy Donovan has waited for answers to questions... while getting none.
"Somebody's been keeping a secret since the 13th of November," said Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton. "Somebody knows something, you need to come forward. Dr. Donovan's family is going to have to spend their first Christmas without her."
Cathy Donovan was walking her dogs along Highway 169 just outside of Onamia late that afternoon when a motorist struck her and drove off, leaving the popular community doctor to die.
Sheriff Burton and officials from the Minnesota State Patrol appeared at a press conference Wednesday, along with Dr. Donovan's father, twin sister and son. The purpose was to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case, while also painting a picture of what the world lost on that fateful afternoon.
"I'm having a hard time accepting that Cathy is dead," said her father George Donovan, trying to speak while choking back sobs. "She'll never be on the other end of the telephone... I can't do it," he said, stepping away from the microphone.
"Never on the other end of the phone again, never on our weekly family Zoom get-togethers, our family events... I cannot get my head around how anyone can drive off and leave someone on the road to die," said Cathy's twin sister Robin Councilman, reading the rest of her father's statement.
Councilman then shared her own statement, describing the hole that Cathy's death has left in their lives, and the need to find the person responsible. "It will stop us from wondering if that car driving too fast behind us, is coming at us while we take our runs or walks, is the same one who killed Cathy," she said.
"I know Cathy cannot be replaced, but knowing why might help."
Donovan's son Shan was the last to speak, sharing that he was born in China with one arm, abandoned and placed in an orphanage. He was one year old when his mother Cathy adopted him and brought him to Minnesota.
"She showed me what it was like to be loved and accepted and what a family was,” Shan Donovan explained.
Cathy Donovan was struck and killed around 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13 as she walked her dogs along the heavily traveled highway near her home just outside of Onamia south of Grand Casino Mille Lacs. Two weeks later the State Patrol released a blurry image of a vehicle that may have been involved in the fatal incident. It is described as darker in color with full-width tail lights, and was headed northbound at the time of the fatal hit-and-run.
Anyone with information about the fatal hit-and-run or who may be responsible is asked to call State Patrol Sgt. Jason Brown at 218-316-3026, or email him at jason.brown@state.mn.us. Tips that lead to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for the posted reward of $10,000.
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