McCormick was last seen when she left work at the Eddy County Detention Center in Carlsbad, New Mexico at 2:30 a.m. on October 2, 2008. She left before the end of her shift without permission and appeared to be upset. Later that morning, at 8:00 a.m., she had brief email and telephone contact with her family. She has never been heard from again.

The last calls made from McCormick's cellular phone used a transmission tower near a Wal-Mart on south Canal Street in south Carlsbad. Her white 2004 Chrysler Sebring sedan, purse, keys, checkbook, money, identification and work uniform were found at home, indicating she arrived there and changed clothes. Her mountain bike is missing, however. Her car has since been repossessed.

McCormick had ended a relationship with a coworker shortly before she went missing and may have been distressed about it, but it's unclear whether this had anything to do with her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.