Phillips was last seen in Fort Myers, Florida on April 22, 1976. She was on the way to the First Federal Savings and Loan Office downtown with her boyfriend, Willie L. Battles. She has never been heard from again and there was no activity on her bank account that day.

Foul play is suspected in Phillips's case, as it is uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning. Authorities questioned Battles several times in the decades after her disappearance. He stated he dropped Phillips off at the bank that day and never saw her again, but other witnesses reported seeing the couple driving north on U. S. 41. Battles has not been named a suspect in Phillips's disappearance.

Phillips has four children. Her case remains unsolved. Some agencies give the year of her disappearance as 1986.