Nearly 23 years after Rebecca Nelson was killed in a hit-and-run outside the Maple Grove Community Center, city officials and her family are raising the stakes for answers. On Thursday, they announced the reward in her case has climbed to $15,000, hoping money might finally shake loose the tip that has eluded investigators for more than two decades.
Nelson had just dropped off her young son at the community center on a February evening in 2003. She never came home. Now her family and Maple Grove police are again asking anyone with information, old memories, or forgotten video to come forward so they can finally learn who was behind the wheel.
What happened
On the evening of Feb. 20, 2003, Nelson parked in an overflow lot and started walking toward the Maple Grove Community Center when a vehicle struck her at the intersection of Community Center Drive and Grove Drive, according to the Star Tribune. She was taken to North Memorial Medical Center, where she died shortly afterward from internal injuries, the outlet reported.
Investigation so far
Over the years, Maple Grove detectives have chased every lead they could find, putting up flyers, canvassing repair shops, and organizing public vigils, but no suspect has ever been identified, as documented by KSTP. In 2025, family and friends offered a $12,500 reward in an effort to spark new tips, according to CCX Media, but that push still did not lead to an arrest.
New reward and how to tip
The City of Maple Grove announced in a Facebook post that family and friends have now increased the reward to $15,000 and again urged the public to revisit anything they might have seen or heard, including old footage that could help detectives. The post also reminded residents that tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers; details are in the city’s notice embedded above and in the linked City of Maple Grove Facebook post.
Anyone with information is asked to call Maple Grove Police Detective Dominic Wareham at 763-494-6196 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota at 1-800-222-TIPS. Local coverage of the renewed outreach and contact information is summarized by KSTP.
Nelson’s husband and children have kept the case in the public eye through vigils and periodic reminders asking the community not to forget her, the Star Tribune reported. They say even a small, long-buried memory could be the detail that finally brings answers after more than two decades.
