Myrtle was last seen in her hometown of Port Arthur, Texas on September 11, 1986. She disappeared during the day and has never been heard from again. Myrtle's husband came home and found his wife missing and his infant daughter sleeping. Myrtle's car, purse and keys were left behind.

The body of the couple's eighteen-year-old daughter, Willette Jeanice Hudson, was found in the attic above the garage. She had been tied up with shoelaces and strangled with a power cord sometime between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. She was found fully clothed and had not been sexually molested. There was no sign of Myrtle at the scene. The intruder(s) into the Hudson home apparently gained access by breaking a window in the front door. Drops of blood were found inside the residence.

Willette's murder remained unsolved until January 2008, when Tommy Lee Stewart pleaded guilty to killing her. He will serve a life sentence for the crime. He was already incarcerated at the time of his plea, serving life for murder and kidnapping. DNA placed him at the scene of Willette's death, and Stewart confessed when confronted with this evidence.

As a condition of his plea, Stewart will not face charges in Myrtle's disappearance. Foul play is suspected in her case, however, due to the circumstances involved.