Owczynsky was last seen on August 26, 1990, at her residence in the vicinity of the 1800 block of University Avenue northwest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was living with a girlfriend in the northeast part of the city at the time, four blocks from her own mother's home; she had moved in a month before her disappearance.

Owczynsky was supposed to meet a girlfriend at a Minneapolis park at noon on the day of her disappearance, and was also supposed to stop by her mother's home. She never arrived at either place. She was last seen in the company of the father of the family she was living with. He had been ordered out of the home two years before after being accused of sexually abusing his daughters. Witnesses say they saw Owczynsky leave her home with him in his pickup truck; she may have asked him for a ride to the park to see her friend.

The individual admitted to having spoken to Owczynsky on the day of her disappearance but denied that she had ever been in his truck. He has never been charged in connection with her case, which remains unsolved. Owcyzynsky left behind her cigarettes, jewelry, clothing and all her money when she went missing. She is not believed to have left of her own accord; foul play is suspected in her disappearance.