Dixon walked away from home in the 700 block ofeast Pine Street in New Ellenton, North Carolina on March 23, 2002. She was last seen at 2:00 p.m. that same day, near Popeye's Restaurant on Main Street, which is near U.S. Highway 278 and South Carolina Highway 19. She was traveling westbound towards Barnwell, South Carolina.

Dixon may have been picked up by a motorist on the highway. Search dogs tracked her scent there, and she was seen by two people. Her family believes she left the house to buy detergent; an empty box was found in her home. Dixon has never been heard from again. Temperatures at the time she disappeared were close to freezing. Authorities searched the area for her for five days, but found nothing.

Weeks before her disappearance, Dixon's family told her doctor she was getting increasingly forgetful. The doctor referred them to a specialist to determine whether Dixon had Alzheimer's Disease. She disappeared before the appointment, but investigators believe Dixon was in fact in the early stages of the illness. She has never wandered away from home before.

Dixon was reported to have been found safe in 2006. The information turned out to be incorrect and she is still missing. Her case remains unsolved.