Wells left the YWCA where she lived to go to the VA hospital. She did not arrive at VA or return to the YWCA. She had a history of leaving for months at a time and then reappearing, but after her 1998 disappearance, she never resurfaced. Wells suffers from a heart condition and paranoid schizophrenia. She may use fifteen to twenty alias names, including the first names Diana or Diane, or her middle name, Leslie. In 2013, the Los Angeles Times did an article about the homeless population in Santa Monica, California. A photograph of a homeless woman was included, and her daughter, Robin Wells Burton, saw the article and believes the woman in the photo is her mother. In mid-2014, for the first time since her disappearance, her Social Security number was used again. In 2017, Burton got multiple tips that her mother had been sighted in Dallas, Texas and Richardson, Texas. Multiple witnesses said they knew her personally, and said she was using the first name Diane. They said Wells had swollen legs, carried a large black bag and was known to ride the DART bus line around the Richardson area.