Mary was employed as a barmaid in Sherman, Connecticut in 1984. She had a stormy relationship with her husband, Dominic Badaracco, and left him for short periods of time in the past. He reportedly physically abused her. Mary's adult daughters from her previous marriage reported her as a missing person on August 31, after they had not been contacted by their mother since the 19th.

Dominic claimed that he saw Mary for the last time on August 20, when she packed all of her belongings and left their residence in the 20 block of Wakeman Road. None of Mary's personal items were located inside the house by her daughters. Her 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier was parked outside of their home, however. The windshield on the driver's side of the vehicle had been smashed. Mary's car keys and her wedding ring were placed on the kitchen counter. Some of her clothes were missing, as were all of the framed photos of her. Dominic claimed that he gave Mary between $100,000 and $250,000 to leave their residence and as an informal settlement. He maintained that she simply packed her things and left after receiving the cash. Her daughters had a close relationship with Mary and other loved ones stated she would never leave the vicinity without sharing her plans.

Divorce proceedings for Mary and Dominic took place in August 1985, nine months after she vanished. Mary was not represented at the hearing and Dominic continued to insist that she left their home after receiving his cash offering. There has not been any evidence of the cash or any trace of Mary's belongings since her disappearance.

Mary's case was upgraded from a missing person's case to that of a homicide in 1990, six years after she disappeared. Investigators received a tip from an informant that Mary was killed after members of The Hell's Angels' motorcycle gang issued a contract on her life. Dominic's son Joey, who has a criminal record for arson, is a member of the gang. The tip has never been confirmed. Authorities searched the backyard of Ernest Dachenhausen's former home in September 2007, and also brought him to the search site. He said he knew Dominic, but he had nothing to do with Mary's disappearance. Some buried cars were located during the search. In April 2008, Dachenhausen was charged with a misdemeanor count of interfering with police in Mary's disappearance. Investigators stated he gave information to police that was contradicted by physical evidence.

Some agencies may list Southbury, Connecticut as the location of Mary's disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.