Hazelton was last seen at the Alligator Place Apartments in Bolivar County, Mississippi on May 21, 2004. She had moved to Mississippi earlier that year with her boyfriend, James Arthur Fannings Jr., but maintained close contact with her family in Pennsylvania and called them frequently. She last had contact with her relatives in late May 2004. She has never been heard from again.

Fannings was arrested and charged with her murder in January 2006. A witness, Chevaun Pierre Mack, reported that Fannings shot Hazelton in the head during an argument. After her death, Fanning and Mack put Hazelton's body in a plastic container and loaded the container into her own green Chevrolet Blazer sport utility vehicle (SUV). They drove around in the vehicle with the body for two days. Fannings attempted to burn Hazelton's body. Accounts differ as to what happened afterwards; one report states he buried it in a shallow grave on the banks of the Hushpuckena River, and another states he threw it off a bridge into Alligator Lake. Fanning and Mack then drove Hazelton's SUV to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It wasn't until Mack was interviewed by Pennsylvania police about Hazelton's disappearance that he told them about witnessing the murder. He stated he had been too frightened to come forward earlier, as Fannings had threatened to shoot him too.

Fannings was tried in late 2006. The case against him was largely circumstantial, as Hazelton's body had not been recovered. The jury deliberated only sixteen minutes before convicting him of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and is presently incarcerated in a maximum security facility in Mississippi.

Investigators searched Alligator Lake several times for Hazelton's body, and located some burned bone fragments. They were unable to make a DNA match, however. Duck hunters found some bloodstained bedding in the lake, as well a red jacket and a brassiere that may have been Hazelton's. Hazelton's family are continuing the search for her remains.