Gotlib was last seen in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky on June 1, 1983. She was riding her red and white bicycle from the Bashford Manor Mall back to her family's residence between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Her bicycle was later found propped up against a brick pillar outside of Bacon's Department Store in the mall. She never arrived home and has not been heard from again. The mall was across the street from her Gerald Court home.

Three days after Gotlib's disappearance, a police bloodhound picked up her scent around a ditch near the mall and led investigators to the window of an apartment across the street. It was the residence of Ester Okmyansky, the grandmother of the last friend to see Gotlib before she disappeared. Okmyansky said Gotlib had never visited the apartment. Officials eventually concluded that the dog erred when distracted by the smell of cooking food. The Okmyanskys were checked and all were cleared.

Several girls living in the New York area were thought to be Gotlib, but they all turned out to be someone else. A theory that she was kidnapped by the Russian government in an attempt to force her family to return to that country has been discarded. There was speculation that Gotlib left voluntarily because she was having trouble adjusting to life in America, but her loved ones say she was not unusually anxious and, if she did run away, she would probably have contacted them eventually or taken money and her favorite possessions.

In December 2008, authorities announced they believed Dr. Gregory Lewis Oakley Jr. was responsible for Gotlib's abduction and murder. A photograph of Oakley is posted below this case summary. He had been questioned about Gotlib's case shortly after she went missing and he denied involvement, but he failed a polygraph test and bank records proved he made an ATM transaction at the Bashford Manor Mall just 100 minutes before Gotlib disappeared. Oakley had a prior criminal record for abducting girls Gotlib's age and injecting them with drugs. He was convicted of the stabbing and attempted rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1984, and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He was paroled on medical grounds in 2002, returned to his native Alabama and died of lung cancer months later. In September 2008, an inmate who had served time in prison with Oakley told authorities Oakley had killed Gotlib with an injection of the painkilling drug Talwin. The informant passed a polygraph about his information, and Oakley's former girlfriend corroborated the story. Investigators stated if Oakley were alive today, based on the evidence now available, he would have been charged with Gotlib's murder.

The investigation into Gotlib's case remains active, and authorities hope they can find her body. Her parents still live in the Louisville area and are hopeful that the case will someday be resolved.

Above: Gregory Oakley in 1984