Nikooei was last seen between approximately 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. at The Marketplace, a shopping center in the vicinity of Haggin and Oaks in Bakersfield, California. She was supposed to visit her young son, who was with her ex-husband in Fresno, California, the day she disappeared. She never arrived there and has never been heard from again. Her car, a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder, was later abandoned in the place where she was last seen on September 10, four days after her disappearance.

Nikooei was employed as an exotic dancer at the Deja Vu club in Bakersfield at the time of her disappearance. She had never missed a visit with her son before; her disappearance is considered very out of character. Nikooei normally made about 20 calls a day on her cellular phone, but has not made any calls on it since September 4. Someone did check her voice mail to retrieve messages until about 7:00 p.m. on September 6. Her fiance, Nathan Alan Mowers, reported her missing at the suggestion of her ex-husband. Mowers also handed out missing persons fliers at The Marketplace and contacted the media about Nikooei's disappearance.

On September 16 or 17, Mowers disappeared as well. His boxer dog and the 2005 Mercedes Benz he and Nikooei jointly owned vanished with him. At the time, he was considered a witness but not a suspect in Nikooei's disappearance. His disappearance was discovered when police went to the home he shared with Nikooei to interview him about her case. Two weeks after her disappearance, investigators also searched the residence for evidence. They did not release any information about what, if anything, they found, but it is known that they confiscated Mowers's BMW.

Mowers was found in Monroe County, Wisconsin on September 30, when a state trooper pulled him over for a registration violation on the Mercedes. He had with him his dog, two handguns, and $20,000 in cash. He was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. After his arrest, California police traveled to Wisconsin, confiscated his car and his Palm Pilot, searched his car, and interviewed him again about Nikooei's disappearance; they referred to him as a person of interest in her case. Mowers successfully petitioned to have the Mercedes and Palm Pilot returned to him. Mowers, who was employed part-time as a salesman for New York Life Insurance in September 2004, maintains his innocence in connection with his fiancee's disappearance and says he was not fleeing California when he was found in Wisconsin, but rather returning to it after a trip to New York. He said the guns and money were from his home's safe, which he emptied before leaving, and he took the money because he was thinking of starting a new business.

Mowers was charged with first-degree murder in Nikooei's case in May 2011, six and a half years after her disappearance. A friend of his said Mowers had confessed the murder to him; he allegedly strangled Nikooei and dumped her body in the desert. A photo of Mowers is posted below this case summary. Nikooei had reportedly told a friend Mowers abused her and once choked her; she said she was afraid for her life and wanted to leave him.

In February 2012, Mowers admitted he strangled Nikooei during an argument and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison; with credit for time served, he could be released within eight years. Mowers lead authorities to a remote area in the Mojave Desert where he said he'd dumped her body and left it out in the open, but an extensive search turned up nothing other than an acyrlic fingernail which may or may not have been hers.

Nikooei was born in Iran and moved from that country to the United States in 1994. She maintained a working relationship with her Turkish ex-husband, whom she married in an arranged ceremony in 1994 and divorced six years later. He is not being called a suspect in her disappearance. She has previous work experience as a waitress and a beauty products salesperson. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Nathan Mowers in 2011