Hobson was last seen at a female friend's residence in the 200 block of Redbluff Drive in Hickory Creek, Texas on April 20, 2007. He may have been carrying a backpack at the time of his disappearance. He has never been heard from again. He left behind his cellular phone, his tools and most of his clothes. The woman he was living with didn't notify the police of his disappearance for three weeks, and even then law enforcement didn't initially consider him to be an official missing person because he's an adult and they found no evidence he was in danger.

A few days after Hobson's disappearance, his military medals and family photographs arrived at his daughter's home in the mail. He had asked her for her mailing address on the same day he disappeared.

Hobson is a retired military officer; he specialized in bomb disposal. He traveled frequently as the result of his career and has friends and contacts all over the world, and kept in touch by email. He has a history of leaving without warning, but his loved ones do not believe he would have walked away without taking any of his belongings. Hobson has been divorced twice. By the 2007 he still worked for a company that did contracts for demolition, but he had trouble getting jobs due to his age.

Since Hobson's disappearance, his military pension and disability checks have been automatically deposited in his bank account. He has not withdrawn any funds from it, but his girlfriend has access to the money. He disappeared under unclear circumstances, but authorities believe he may have left of his own accord. His case remains unsolved.