Eastin borrowed her former boyfriend's 1969 Ford Maverick on the evening of January 18, 1972 in Hayward, California. She was going shopping with a friend and promised to wash the car before returning it later that night. Eastin bought a pair of boots while shopping, dropped her friend off, and then continued to Charlie's Car Wash, a self-service wash on Mission Boulevard in Hayward.

The Maverick was located at the wash during the early morning hours of January 19, the following day. Eastin had apparently completed washing the vehicle's exterior before she vanished. The car was locked and papers from the interior were laying on the pavement outside of the driver's door. There was no sign of Eastin and she has never been seen again.

Authorities initially believed Eastin had left Hayward of her own decision, but her family stated that all of her personal belongings were still at her residence and it was not her character to simply disappear. Eastin's case was reclassified as an involuntary missing person's case. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Her case received additional publicity in 2005, when a billboard appealing for information on her case was erected near the car wash where she disappeared.