Kirsten was last seen inside her family's residence in the 1100 block of Jet Drive in Midwest City, Oklahoma on May 13, 1997. She was in her bedroom with her younger sister at approximately 11:30 p.m. when her mother put her to bed. Her mother checked the bedroom again between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. on May 14 and discovered that Kirsten was missing.

Small amounts of blood were discovered on the room's window sill and on the backyard's six-foot cyclone fence. The bedroom window was cracked open and Kirsten's underpants were located in the backyard. There was no sign of her and she has not been seen again. The blood inside the room was later found to probably be unrelated to her case: it wasn't her blood but was actually from a person who has been ruled out as a suspect, and authorities believe the blood was in the room before Kirsten disappeared.

Authorities have stated they think Kirsten was harmed by someone close to her, possibly a relative, as they don't believe a stranger would have been able to carry her out the window and over the fence without a struggle or any noise. Several individuals close to her failed polygraphs after her disappearance, but there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone. Kirsten's mother was involved with drugs at the time of Kirsten's disappearance and believes someone she knows, possibly someone connected to the drug culture, abducted the child. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance, which remains unsolved.