Morales disappeared from Woodburn, Oregon on August 5, 2009. That morning, she was home alone with her seventeen-year-old cousin in the 1100 block of Pacific Highway. A friend of her father's, Juan Martinez Martinez, came into the house and said Morales was leaving with him. He overpowered Morales's cousin and took Morales away in a black or dark blue sedan, possibly a Saturn. Her cousin stated Morales appeared to be unhappy and frightened as she left with him. The day after her abduction, Morales called her father and said she was okay. She asked to be left alone and said they should not search for her.

A photograph and vital statistics for Martinez Martinez are posted below this case summary. A felony warrant was issued for him on August 6, 2009. He was a family friend and a coworker of Morales's father, but they hadn't seen him for about two months prior to the abduction. Authorities stated he and Morales had been in an "ongoing, inappropriate relationship" which her family was unaware of. Martinez Martinez has relatives in California and may have taken Morales there. He also has a wife and child in Mexico. He is sometimes transient and works as a field worker.

There is no evidence that Morales is in physical danger, but she is underaged and authorities and her family are anxious to find her. Her case remains unsolved.