Hills was last seen on February 24, 2004, when he left his Soldotna, Alaska home to pick up his paycheck in Anchorage. He was reported missing by his employer when he failed to show up for work. On February 26, two days after Hills disappeared, his red 1998 Dodge pickup truck was found stuck in the snow in a ditch off of Kenai Keys Road in Sterling, Alaska. The car had run out of gas. Its keys were still in the ignition and Hills's wallet was on the front seat. Police found footprints leading away from the car, through the woods for half a mile and up to Feuding Lane, where the trail ended.

Hills was underdressed for the cold weather on the day of his disappearance and, exposed to the elements, could have developed hypothermia within 90 minutes and frozen to death within hours. Another possibility is that he fell into the Kenai River and drowned. His mother, however, stated Hills grew up in the Kenai Peninsula and was an accomplished woodsman who would not have gotten lost and been unable to survive the elements. His mother believes he met with foul play.

Hills has three children by his longtime girlfriend, who attempted to have him declared legally dead in 2005. His case is unsolved.