Phillips was last seen between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. on August 6, 1995 near the Aspen Glen picnic grounds in Big Bear Lake, California. He was picnicking there with his younger half-brother, his mother and her live-in boyfriend. Phillips had an argument with his mother and her boyfriend the day he disappeared and he told a witness he was tired of arguing. He apparently vanished while walking back to where the adults were. Phillips has no history of running away.

Several days after Phillips's disappearance, a friend of his family in Bakersfield, California received an automated phone call asking whether she would accept a collect call. She thought she heard Phillips's voice on the line when the caller was supposed to announce himself, but the caller hung up before she could speak with him. It has not been confirmed that the caller was Phillips. The only other person he knows in Bakersfield is his father, who was in prison in 1995.

An extensive search of the area around the picnic grounds and Phillips's nearby home turned up no sign of the child. It is unclear whether Phillips became lost, or if other factors caused his disappearance. Little evidence is available in his case.