DiFrancesco and a friend, James Johnson, disappeared from Fort Pierce, Florida on August 26, 1985. DiFrancesco was last seen at his home on Sunrise Drive. He had a student pilot's license and reportedly left in a plane with Johnson, a pilot, for an overnight trip. They were supposedly going to pick up a shipment of marijuana in the Bahamas or at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Neither man has ever been heard from again and no wreckage from their plane was ever discovered. There was a rumor that DiFrancesco had been found in jail in Jamaica after his disappearance, but this was never verified.

The plane DiFrancesco and Johnson supposedly flew away in was owned by Jay Crouch. He was convicted of cocaine trafficking charges in 1988. DiFrancesco was a concrete worker who supplemented his income by flying cocaine for Crouch into St. Lucie County. He left behind two daughters and nine siblings, and his family stated he was devoted to them and wouldn't have abandoned them. DiFrancesco's brother believes he may have never left Fort Pierce and that he and Johnson may have been murdered and buried in the local area. Both men's cases remain unsolved.