Arms was seen at approximately 8:00 p.m. on September 18, 1992, in his 16-foot Sunfish sailboat on Lake Champlain in Plattsburg, New York. He and two male friends sailed approximately one mile east of Schuyler Island and into an open area of the lake. The boat hit rough water and flipped over twice, knocking Arms and his companions into the lake. Arms and his friends were wearing life jackets and decided to swim to Schuyler Island. His two friends went ahead and saw Arms swimming behind them most of the way, but they reached the island and Arms did not. His life jacket and the sailboat were later found by the Coast Guard, but Arms himself has never been heard from again.

Arms is from Westminsterset, Vermont and was visiting the Plattsburg area at the time of his disappearance. He remains classified as a missing person.