At 11:00 a.m. on December 26, 2007, Bell left his sister's Allen, Texas home to go and work out in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, he randomly stopped at the Oak Crest Baptist Church in Midlothian, Texas and asked its members for "spiritual guidance and a shield of armor for protection." He appeared confused and disoriented at the time. The pastor was concerned by his comments and called the police, who questioned Bell, contacted his family and released him at 3:45 p.m. Bell never arrived home, however. At 9:45 p.m., a police officer spoke to him as he was walking in downtown Cisco, Texas, over 130 miles from Midlothian. Bell gave the officer his name was was behaving normally at the time. He has never been heard from again.

On the evening of the day he disappeared, Bell's car was found on Highway 6 between Eastland and Cisco, Texas, about five miles from where Bell was last seen. The vehicle was out of gas. His keys and cellular phone were inside it; the phone's battery was dead. There was no sign of Bell at the scene and no indications of foul play.

Bell grew up in Texas and graduated from Central High School and Texas Southern University. He is a very talented baseball player and played while in school and for a minor league team after graduation. Following his baseball career, he lived in California and worked for a wireless phone provider. He moved back to Texas the month before his disappearance and was staying with relatives. He said he was considering a career as a minister.

Foul play is not suspected in Bell's case, but there is concern for his safety. He wasn't carrying any money or credit cards at the time of his disappearance, and it is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning. His case remains unsolved.