$10K reward posted in hopes of finding driver who fatally struck doctor as she walked her dogs

Family members joined the Minnesota State Patrol and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday to announce a $10,000 reward in hopes the money will lead to the discovery of the driver who hit and killed a longtime family doctor one month ago.

The hit-and-run crash occurred about 4:50 p.m. Nov. 13 on northbound Hwy. 169 about halfway between Vineland and Onamia near the southern shore of Lake Mille Lacs, while Cathy Ann Donovan, 56, and her dogs were out for a walk.

Donovan died at the scene. One of her dogs did not survive the crash; the other was not hurt, the Sheriff's Office said.

Donovan was a doctor for the past 27 years in Onamia with Mille Lacs Health System, where she served as vice chief of staff for the health system and as medical director of its clinics.

"Mom was the best thing that ever happened to me," Donovan's 23-year-old son, Shan Donovan, said during a news conference in St. Paul announcing the reward.

"I started out my life [at] a little bit of a disadvantage," he said, explaining that he was born in China with one arm, abandoned as a 1-year-old and placed in an orphanage with thousands of other kids.

"And then along came my mom," he said. "She adopted me. She showed me what it was like to be loved, and accepted and what a family was."

On the day he learned of his mother's death, Shan Donovan revealed, he quit his job that night as a Fargo emergency medical technician and gave up his dream of working in health care beside his mother. He said the grief was more than he could bear.

"I'm struggling a lot right now," he said at the one-month mark of his mother's death.

Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton said Donovan was well known in the community of 27,000, and served many through her practice, including himself.

"This has been a huge hit to our community, almost every single first responder that came to the scene personally knew her, so that was very difficult for them," Burton said.

"I guess my ask for the community, as we move into the holidays," the sheriff continued, "is somebody's been keeping a secret since the 13th of November; somebody knows something, Dr. Donovan's family is going to have to spend their first Christmas without her, and think about that as you spend time with your loved ones this Christmas season."

Donovan's father, George Donovan, attempted to read a statement before he was overcome with emotion.

"I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that Cathy is dead," he said before her twin sister, Dr. Robin Councilman, took over reading his statement. "She'll never be on the other end of the phone again, never at our weekly Zoom get togethers or family events.

"I cannot get my head around how anybody can drive off and leave someone in the road to die. I know Cathy cannot be replaced, but knowing why might help."

In late November, the patrol released on social media a fuzzy image of the vehicle it has been looking for and described it as darker in color, either blue or metallic gray, with full-width taillights.

The patrol's chief, Col. Matt Langer, followed Donovan's son to the podium and said, "Someone out there knows something. ... If it was you who was driving, and you were involved, the right thing to do is get this off your chest and come forward."

Langer also directed his plea to anyone with an inkling of the driver responsible for Donovan's death.

"So, if doing the right thing doesn't motivate you, and money motivates you on top of it," Langer continued, "thanks to the generosity of the family and others, there's a $10,000 reward available if it puts us on the path to finding out who is responsible."

The patrol said Sgt. Jason Brown is the point of contact for the case. He can be reached at 218-316-3026 or jason.brown@state.mn.us.

"Cathy lived a life of compassion and integrity," Councilman, her sister, said, "and we are asking that the public demonstrate that same compassion and integrity as we seek the person who killed her."

Star Tribune staff writer Abby Simons contributed to this report.