Billings was involved in an automobile accident on Route 16 near the Hungry Mother Grocery. in Marion, Virginia at 5:00 p.m. on February 14, 1997. He had been driving his sister's car. He did not appear to be injured in the accident and he told the other driver involved that he was all right. Billings walked away from the scene of the crash, down the road towards Mitchell Valley. He has never been heard from again. Weather conditions were cold and icy on the day of his disappearance.

It is believed that Billings may have hitched a ride with a truck driver at the Village Truck Stop along Interstate 81 in Atkins, Virginia. Atkins is located between Bristol and Roanoke, Virginia. Few details are available in Billings's case, which remains unsolved.