Rita was last seen in the New York City borough of the Bronx on September 22, 1986. She has never been heard from again.

Rita's former husband, Robert Fioretti, was charged with stealing over $17,000 from Rita's bank account shortly after her 1986 disappearance. Robert apparently divorced Rita in 1974, 12 years before she vanished, and somehow concealed the fact from her. He married one of his co-workers in October 1986, one month after Rita was last seen.

Robert is the prime suspect in Rita's disappearance. Authorities believe that foul play was involved in her case and have investigated it as a presumed homicide. Robert has never been charged in connection with Rita's disappearance. He was convicted of sexually abusing his stepdaughter in 1992. Investigators believe Rita's remains may have been placed in the Hudson River in New York shortly after she vanished, but she has never been located. The headless body of a female was recovered from the river in 1988 and authorities initially believed it was Rita, but the body was not identified as her remains. Rita's case remains unsolved.