Misty was last seen walking to her family's residence in the Tacoma, Washington area on September 17, 1992. She was returning from the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington at the time; she had gone there with a close friend, Trina Bevard. Misty missed the 8:40 p.m. Pierce Transit bus back to her neighborhood in Spanaway, Washington. She called her mother and said she might get a ride with Rheuban Schmidt, an eighteen-year-old friend. Misty's mother didn't trust Schmidt and told her daughter to find someone else to help her. Misty eventually decided to walk home, a distance of eight miles. A witness saw her at 10:00 p.m. in downtown Puyallup, walking along Meridian toward the westbound onramp of Highway 512. She never arrived home and has not been seen again. Misty has a mole under her right eye and a scar underneath her right knee. She has previously fractured both forearms.