On August 21, 1976, Barbara disappeared after attending a rock concert in Huntley, Illinois, with a man she had met earlier that day while walking to St. Raymond de Penafort Church in Mount Prospect. The man, who called himself “Tom Edwards,” invited her to a party, and although she declined at first, she later went to a concert with him and her friend. Witnesses saw “Edwards,” later identified as Thomas G. Urlacher, providing drugs and alcohol to Barbara and other underage attendees. Barbara and her friend became separated during the event, and it is believed Barbara left with Urlacher when the concert ended. She never made it home. Days later, Urlacher moved to California and lived under an alias. Police discovered an unsent letter in which he admitted to burying a girl, but he claimed it was written under the influence of drugs and untrue. Urlacher was never criminally charged but was found liable for Barbara’s wrongful death in a 1978 civil suit, which awarded her family $5.15 million. Urlacher, who always denied involvement, was killed in a 2004 drug deal. Barbara remains missing.