Alice was last seen in Bellingham, Washington on October 6, 1990. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her husband, Bruce Allen Hummel, and two of their children on Alabama Hill. Their oldest child was in college. The family had previously lived in Alaska and Alice and Bruce had held teaching jobs in the remote Alaskan bush. Days before Alice disappeared, one of her daughters complained of being molested by Bruce. Alice promised to take care of the problem and said it would never happen again.

When Alice went missing in 1990, Bruce told their children she had gone to California or Texas to find work. The children received some correspondence from their mother afterward, including birthday cards, possibly a wedding present, and one letter signed with Alice's name which stated she was involved with another man who didn't want children. Bruce later remarried and moved to Montana. Alice's father died about ten years after her disappearance, and the children attempted to locate Alice to tell her, but could not find her. They reported her disappearance to police in 2001.

Authorities conducted a records search in every U. S. state and British Columbia, but could not find any evidence that Alice had died. Investigators located Bruce in Montana in 2004. He said he had last seen Alice in October 1990, when he took her to the airport, and had last spoken to her in 1991. Since 1979, Alice had been drawing $1,500 a month in disability payments from the Alaska Teachers Retirement System. The payments did not stop when she went missing in 1990. Bruce admitted to forging Alice's signature on checks and letters to Alaskan officials so he could keep the payments for himself. He also admitted to having molested one of his children.

Authorities tried to approach Bruce for a second interview, but he had fled, leaving behind a letter. The letter stated Alice had not run away in 1990; instead, Bruce had found her body in the bathroom. She had committed suicide by slashing her wrist, and left a note asking him not to tell the children. Bruce wrote that he cleaned up the bloody scene and bought a new bathroom rug to replace the bloodstained one, and hid Alice's body in his van. The next day he constructed a raft, put the corpse on it and towed it out into Bellingham Bay. Bruce said the raft capsized and the corpse fell overboard, weighted with a rock and held to the raft by one rope, and he was unable to get it back because the wind was too bad and the water too rough, so he left it where it was.

Police began searching for Bruce after he fled Montana in 2004. They found him camping in St. Maries, Idaho a month later and he agreed to take a lie detector test, but ran again instead. He lived at various campsites for the next few years, moving frequently. He told his wife he was afraid of going to jail and might commit suicide instead.

In late 2006, Bruce was located living in Grays Harbor, Washington and arrested on federal charges of wire fraud. The charges are the result of his misappropriating Alice's disability benefits. In the summer of 2007, Bruce pleaded guilty to twelve charges, admitting that Alice has been dead since October 1990 and he stole $276,000 of her benefits. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Investigators do not believe Alice left of her own accord in 1990, and they do not believe Bruce's second story. Weather records show there was no wind at Bellingham Bay on the night he says he took her body out there, and water conditions were calm. Police do not think he could have disposed of Alice's corpse in the manner he says he did. Authorities searched the home where the Hummels lived in 1990 for evidence in her case. They did not find evidence that a large amount of blood had been shed in the bathroom, which contradicts the suicide story. Bruce is known to have done some work on his home's foundation around the time his wife disappeared.

In August 2008, authorities charged Bruce with Alice's murder. He was still incarcerated on the wire fraud charges at the time. Police theorize that when Alice confronted him about the child molestation, he murdered her and made up a story to explain her absence to their children. Bruce faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted. He is awaiting trial.

Bruce still maintains he did not cause his wife's death. Alice's remains have never been found, but foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.