Doss was living in Houston, Texas at the time of her disappearance. She was reported missing on September 1, 1982. On September 27, she was seen at a Greyhound bus station in Davenport, Iowa. It is unclear where she was going; some believe she planned to return to Houston to visit her father. Her family never heard from her again.

Thursday's Child, a charitable organization that assists homeless or at-risk teenagers, claims they made contact with Doss in 1984, two years after her disappearance. They stated Doss was working as a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, under a pimp named James Wiseman. She had straight, bleached blonde hair and was using the alias name Kimberly Gardner.

The woman the Thursday's Child workers saw was approximately four inches taller than Doss was reported to be, however. Doss's mother did not believe the Hollywood woman was her daughter, so no investigative action was taken at that time. Several years passed before investigators decided Kimberly Gardner and Kimberly Doss were probably the same person. By that time, Gardner was no longer in Hollywood. She has never been seen from again and has not been definitively identified as Doss.

Some agencies may list March 24, 1980 or January 1, 1984 as the date of Doss's disappearance, and the place of her disappearance as Los Angeles, California. Texas authorities are assisting with the investigation into her disappearance.