At the time of her disappearance, Plunkett was residing in Lakewood, California in a self-storage unit she had converted into a living space. The unit was located at Anchor Self-Storage in the 7500 block of Alondra Boulevard, near the intersection of Paramount Boulevard, in Paramount, California. She rented two sheds and lived in one of them. Fire destroyed the unit on December 12, 2001. Authorities sifted through the rubble and found no sign of Plunkett; they do not believe she died in the fire.

Investigators believe that the destruction of her home may have caused severe psychological trauma for Plunkett. She may now be living in a psychiatric care facility or the streets. Plunkett frequented the cities of Barstow, California and Las Vegas, Nevada at the time of her 2001 disappearance. She has never been heard from again.