Key was last seen in the parking lot of the now-defunct Sticks and Stones bar and pool hall on Main Street in Carrboro, North Carolina during the early morning hours of December 1, 1997. She was accompanied by Andrew Douglas Dalzell at the time. A photograph of Dalzell is posted below this case summary. He was a regular at the Sticks and Stones, but none of the other patrons knew his name. Key met him in the bar that evening. They spent the evening together and were seen hugging and kissing in the parking lot. Key has never been heard from again.

Two days after Key's disappearance, her Pontiac Sunbird was found unlocked and illegally parked in the lot next to the bar. Her purse and jacket were on the front seat. Key's loved ones began to suspect foul play at this point. It would be uncharacteristic of her to leave her vehicle behind if she left for an extended period, and she normally kept the car locked and stored her purse in the trunk. By the time police got to examine the Pontiac, it had been detailed, and any fingerprints, fibers, hair or other clues that may have been there were gone.

It took several months for investigators to identity Key's companion as Dalzell. He intially agreed to an interview, then reneged and got an attorney. Authorities obtained a search warrant on Dalzell's car and found a large bloodstain in the backseat and a bloodstained pair of underpants. The bloodstain turned out to be from Dalzell's dog, and investigators were never able to link the underwear to Key's disappearance. In 2000, another family bought Dalzell's home and gave police permission to search it. They found no evidence related to Key's disappearance at the residence and do not believe her body is buried there.

In late 2004, Dalzell confessed to strangling Key and putting her body in a Dumpster in Wilmington, North Carolina. He told the police about her alleged murder after he was arrested on unrelated charges. Dalzell was subsequently charged with second-degree murder. His statement was later thrown out of evidence, however; a judge ruled that police had violated his constitutional rights to get the confession. Without the confession, prosecutors did not have enough evidence to proceed to trial. The murder charge against Dalzell was subsequently dropped in June 2005, and Key's disappearance is officially listed as unsolved.

Key was declared legally dead in 2005. At the time of her disappearance, she lived her mother in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She had a somewhat nomadic lifestyle and would occasionally leave home for several days at a time, but she always kept in touch with her loved ones and has never been gone for this long. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Dalzell