Moody was living in her ex-husband's home on Palm Avenue in Lorain, Ohio in 2008. Although they had been divorced for years, he allowed her to stay there. In 2008 the couple got involved in a minor domestic dispute and Moody took out a protection order against her ex-husband. He evicted her from the Palm Avenue home in August of that year. Moody's daughter was the only one present when she left, and stated she last saw her mother walking down the street with some of her clothes. She left most of her belongings behind and never came back to get them.

Moody didn't contact her family again after she left her ex-husband's residence. She wasn't close to them and they weren't in touch on a regular basis, so they were unconcerned at first. She lived in a local homeless shelter, the Haven Center, from August 11, 2008 to January 30, 2009. On that date, Moody left the shelter without a forwarding address. Her sister, who lives in Texas, reported her missing in July 2010. Authorities stated she had no job, no bank account, no phone and few friends when she disappeared, which makes her very difficult to trace. Few details are available in Moody's case.