Joyce was last seen on April 16, 1978. She left her parents' summer cottage and went to a store called Bell's Corners in Sister Lakes, Michigan to meet her estranged husband of two years, Jerry Wayne Fisher. Jerry stated they had planned to get a vehicle title transfer notarized. According to Jerry, they had driven only a short way when Joyce realized they had the wrong title, so they returned. He said he dropped Joyce off Bell's Corners between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. Other witnesses, however, said Jerry was alone when he came back to the store. Joyce has never been heard from again. The 1969 Buick she was driving was found about two hours later, still parked at the store. There was no sign of a struggle and no indication of her whereabouts.

Joyce left behind a one-year-old daughter and $600 in her bank account. She is described as a stable, responsible woman who would not have left without warning. She allegedly told family and friends that she had been beaten several times by Jerry and was afraid of him. She had worked as a special education teacher for the Dowagiac Union School District, but she resigned her job in January 1978 when she separated from Jerry and moved in with her parents in Illinois. She took their daughter to Michigan every two weeks so Jerry could visit with her, and it was during one of these trips that she disappeared.

In January 1979, Jerry lost custody of their child to Joyce's parents; the girl had allegedly said he beat her, and he was ordered to have no contact with the child until he underwent a psychiatric evaluation. He remarried eight years after Joyce's disappearance and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. In 1987, he was charged with Joyce's murder. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 1988 and sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison, but after he served four years his conviction was overturned on appeal, on the basis of insufficient evidence. The prosecutor failed to challenge the appeal, and the appeals court directed a verdict of not guilty, meaning Jerry could not be tried again. He was freed.

Joyce's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.