Simolke was last seen by his mother at their home on June 24, 2019. He mentioned he was going to visit a friend on Sunflower Street in the Bayside Park community. Later that night, a Hancock County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop a car that fled when the officer turned on his lights. The car chase led onto Mississippi 603 and then onto Interstate 10 East. The driver pulled off the interstate near the woods, where the driver and two passengers fled into the woods. The driver and one passenger were caught, but the second passenger, believed to be Simolke, evaded capture. Family and friends fear foul play in Simolke's disappearance.