Brucks was last seen when his mother dropped him off at the Country Kitchen restaurant in Jefferson City, Missouri on the evening of April 10, 1995. He planned to meet an unidentified person there. On April 11, Brucks called his mother and said he was "at the lake" and someone else was going to give him a ride home. He never arrived home and has never been heard from again.

At the time he went missing, Brucks was carrying a $5,000 check from an insurance policy. The check was later cashed in Columbia, Missouri. The identity of the person who cashed the check is known, but the individual's name has not been publicly released. The circumstances surrounding Brucks's disappearance are unclear, but foul play is suspected.