While inspecting another abandoned neighborhood, Rick's group discovers another survivor in the zombie apocalypse. A young girl, Carl's age, named  Dakota. Dakota is a pretty independent girl, long brow hair, ocean blue eyes, and faint freckles along her upper cheeks. She hadn't done much surviving during the apocalypse. She mostly hid and ran, only killing a walker or two. Once she was found by the group, Rick was very merciful in letting her join them for protection since she looked and was very innocent and not wanting to harm them.

After joining the group and finding a barn to stay in for a couple of nights, Carl discovers that he might be falling for Dakota, weather or not she was one of the last girls his age on the earth. Dakota didn't mind Carl either. She almost fell in love with the way he cared for his baby sister, Judith.