McDonald was employed as a hostess at Club Chance Bar in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1999. She was last seen leaving work at 10:30 p.m. on November 19, 1999. McDonald never returned to her residence and her vehicle was discovered in the club's parking lot the following day. Her black purse was located on a bicycle path on the shoreline near Blaisdell Park in Pearl City, Hawaii, near Pearl Harbor, the day following her disappearance. McDonald has never been heard from again. An older model white cargo van is believed to have dropped her off at the park. McDonald's whereabouts remain unknown.

Human bones were found partially buried in mud near the water's edge at Blaisdell Park in January 2000, two months after McDonald's disappearance. They were not her remains, however.

Friends told authorities that McDonald was looking forward to seeing her two children in late November 1999. They resided in Texas. There was no change in McDonald's behvior prior to her disappearance. Police suspect foul play was involved in McDonald's case.