Lee was last seen in Kitsap County, Washington on October 24, 2002. His car was later found abandoned in the Bucklin Hill Safeway parking lot. A self-employed worker who built drain fields for septic tanks, Lee has not shown up for work since he disappeared. He is described as an outdoor enthusiast.

In August 2001, Lee was sentenced to 366 days in prison for conspiracy to deliver methampetamine. This is an exceptionally long sentence for this kind of crime. Police found propane tanks and other drug-making paraphernalia in his car, along with $5,000 in cash. Two hundred grams of meth, enough for about 800 doses, were found in his house. It is not known if Lee's prison sentence has anything to do with his vanishing, but authorities think his disappearance may have been drug-related.

A month after Lee vanished, an area man complained to the police that he was beaten with a sawed-off aluminum bat and a chainsaw chain. The alleged assailant was charged with third-degree assault in Kitsap County Superior Court. The victim says he believes he was attacked because the assailant thought he had given the police information on Lee's disappearance. It is unknown if the assault had any relation to Lee's case, however.

Lee remains missing and no one has been charged in his disappearance. His case remains unsolved, but foul play is suspected and a death certificate has been issued.