Anthony and his mother, Jessica Moya, were sleeping on the couch in an apartment in the 500 block of Webster Street, near west Sixth Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Denver, Colorado on June 12, 1989 at approximately 8:30 a.m. Anthony, Jessica and her infant daughter were staying with relatives at the time; they had been living in the apartment for about a month. Jessica stated she awoke at approximately 8:45 a.m. and discovered that the front door was open and her son was missing. There was no sign of Anthony or any intruders. He has never been heard from again.

Jessica and her boyfriend were questioned after Anthony's disappearance and took polygraph tests. Jessica told the media they both failed and were regarded as suspects in her child's disappearance. She maintains her innocence and stated she believed Anthony had been abducted by a stranger. Other residents of the apartment complex did not report seeing Anthony or any suspicious activity in the area on the morning of his disappearance. Due to the lack of evidence in the child's case, it is classified as a non-family abduction.