Nelson was last seen at approximately 8:30 p.m. on September 1, 2006, leaving a party at a friend's residence in the vicinity of the 800 block of Ward Lane and Highway 80 in Princeton, Louisiana. His father called him and Nelson said he'd seen police lights in the area and thought the police were chasing him. He has never been heard from again. Nelson was carrying his cellular flip-phone and wallet at the time of his disappearance. Neither of those have been located, and there hasn't been any activity on his phone since he vanished.

Nelson lived with his father in Haughton, Louisiana at the time of his disappearance and working on an oil rig. He had moved there from Spearfish, South Dakota about six months before he went missing. His family stated he was behaving normally prior to vanishing and it is out for character for him to be out of touch with them. His son was born months after he disappeared.

Authorities and Nelson's family believe he is dead, and his family has offered a reward for the recovery of his remains. Investigators theorize he either died accidentally of a drug overdose, or was robbed and killed for the cash he was carrying. His case remains unsolved.