Rachel was last seen watching a movie inside her family's residence in Garden City, Kansas at approximately 1:00 a.m. on January 16, 1995. She disappeared under suspicious circumstances and has never been heard from again. Rachel left all of her clothing and personal belongings at her home, except for her coat. Five days after her disappearance, some girls claimed to have seen her talking on a pay phone with her 18-year-old boyfriend. They say she left the phone with her boyfriend after asking the girls for a ride, then went into Dillon's grocery store. The sighting has not been confirmed and her boyfriend denies having been with her after she vanished.

Rachel was supposed to be a witness against her boyfriend, who was being prosecuted for unlawful sexual relations with her. Because Rachel disappeared before she could testify, the charges were dropped. They started dating when Rachel was a fourteen-year-old high school freshman and her boyfriend a senior. He was her first boyfriend. Rachel's mother found out she was pregnant after Rachel was arrested for attempting to shoplift a home pregnancy test from Wal-Mart. She gave her statement to the police at that time.

There is no evidence to indicate that Rachel has given birth. There is also no record of her ever receiving a driver's license, a copy of her birth certificate, or a Social Security card. She may have remained in the Kansas City area after her disappearance. There have been no sightings of her in many years, but authorities remain hopeful that she is still alive. Rachel has seven siblings. Her mother still lives at the same address and has kept the same phone number.

Some agencies may classify Rachel's disappearance as that of an Endangered Runaway.