Pitzer resided in Newberry Springs, California in 2004. She had told her mother she was working as a waitress and caring for an elderly invalid, but shortly before she disappeared she confessed she had been lying. Pitzer said she was not a waitress, she was not taking her medication for bipolar disorder, and she was living on the street. She agreed to take a bus home to Arkansas and visit her mother and two young daughters.

Pitzer was last seen in the vicinity of the 30000 block of Caspian Way in Newberry Springs on June 28, 2004. An acquaintance gave her a ride to a bus station to ride to Arkansas. She never arrived in Arkansas and has never been heard from again. Her mother contacted a friend of Pitzer's in California who reported her missing on July 16.

There were few clues in Pitzer's disappearance until December 2005, when her clothes and Pitzer's white suitcase were discovered in a mine shaft in the Mohave Desert in Ludlow, California. The clothing, which included desert boots, a swimsuit and undergarments, was identified as Pitzer's by her mother. A mattress and sheet were also found. They were stained with human blood and body fluids; authorities are testing the stains for DNA. Investigators stated they had no suspects in Pitzer's case and there is no hard evidence that she is deceased, although her mother believes foul play was involved in her case.

Pitzer has experience as a model for clothing stores in Arkansas and Texas. Her case remains unsolved. California police are investigating.