Dabkowski was last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. on January 14, 1982, in his hometown of Tarentum, Pennsylvania. He and his friend, Gabriel Minarcin, finished dinner at the Dabkowski home and were walking three doors down to Minarcin's family's home. The boys never arrived at the house and have not been seen again.

Authorities believe that Minarcin and Dabkowski may have fallen through thin ice near their residences and drowned, as they were last seen walking together near the Allegheny River. Footprints in the snow lead to the riverbank, but there were no prints leading away from the river. However, Dabkowski had been told by his parents to stay away from the river, and he dependably obeyed this rule. An extensive search of the water turned up no evidence that anyone had fallen in.

Neil B. Hammons stole Dabkowski's identity in 1998. He was stopped by police while driving and showed the officer a driver's license in Dabkowski's name. The officer realized Dabkowski was a missing person, but as the man was a legal adult, he could not hold him. He let the man go and notified Dabkowski's family, who thought their son had been found. It turned out Hammons had been looking for a new identity and had chosen Dabkowski off a missing persons' website which gave his information. He had nothing to do with Dabkowski's disappearance which, like Minarcin's, remains unsolved.

Dabkowki's family still resides in the house he lived in. Due to the lack of clues in the boys' cases, their disappearances are classified as non-family abductions.