Kamahele was last seen hitchhiking on the Cotati onramp off Highway 101 in Santa Rosa, California on April 25, 1972. She was allegedly picked up by a 20- to 30-year-old Caucasian male with an Afro-type hairstyle, driving a faded brown 1970 - 1972 Chevrolet pickup truck. She has never been heard from again. Kamahele graduated from Yokohama American High School in Hawaii in 1970. She was a student at Santa Rosa Junior college at the time of her disappearance, and lived with a roommate in the 900 block of Sierra Avenue. She is described as a conscientious student and it's uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning.

Around the time of Kamahele's disappearance, seven females disappeared and were later found murdered. All of them were young women and habitual hitchhikers; Kamahele is the only one who has never been located. Police believed a serial killer was operating in the area. The serial killer Ted Bundy was considered a possible suspect in Kamahele's case at one time, but he was cleared. Others suspect she may have been a victim of the Zodiac Killer, a still-unidentified a serial killer who terrorized California in the late 1970s. Robin Graham, who went missing in 1970, is considered to be a possible Zodiac victim. Donna Lass, who vanished in 1971, was a suspected victim, but police no longer believe the Zodiac Killer was involved in her case.

The body of a young woman was found in a ravine near Calistoga Road in 1979. Authorities initially thought she might be Kamahele, but her dental records did not match the murder victim's. Her case remains unsolved.