Anderson had her metallic blue van with Maryland license plates numbered GRD114 repaired at Tate Dodge Chrysler on West Street in Annapolis, Maryland on April 20, 1979. She returned to the dealership later during the day to retrieve her vehicle. She was supposed to drive it directly to K&K Seafoods in Chester, Maryland, where she worked as a waitress. Anderson has never been heard from again. She was normally a very reliable worker and her boss became concerned and contacted police when she did not arrive at work and did not call to say she would be late or absent.

Anderson's van was later found at in a shopping center parking lot in Glen Burnie, Maryland. From the mileage log investigators determined it had been driven 45 miles between the time it left the dealership and the time it was parked in the lot. There was no sign of Anderson at the scene. She is believed to have been carrying no credit cards and only about $20 in cash when she went missing.

Anderson was a student at the University of Maryland at the time of her disappearance. She lived with her boyfriend in Chester. Her parents lived near Boston, Massachusetts. Anderson and her boyfriend were scheduled to travel to Pennsylvania for a family reunion a few days after her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved. Authorities believe she may have been taken against her will.