Browning was last seen at the Fire Rock Casino in Church Rock, New Mexico on October 9, 2009. At 2:00 a.m. the following day, his dark gray 2008 Ford Focus was found abandoned and burned on Fox Road in the Chichiltah, New Mexico area, about a forty-five-minute drive from Gallup, New Mexico. There was no sign of him at the scene. The Crownpoint Division of the Navajo Police Department, who investigated the car fire, were unaware that Browning was missing, and it wasn't until October 13, when his boss notified his family that he'd missed work, that Browning's family reported his disappearance to the McKinley County Sheriff's Department. The sheriff's department was unaware that Browning's car had been found, and it took some time to connect the two incidents.

Browning worked as a bus driver for the Bread Springs Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) School at the time of his disappearance. It's uncharacteristic of him to miss work without notifying anyone. He is openly homosexual and there is speculation that he was the victim of a hate crime, but little evidence is available in his case. His disappearance remains unsolved.