Ramer attended a softball game on the night of August 15, 1997, then visited her boyfriend and other friends. She left her boyfriend's house and returned to her father's residence. She was last seen in his home at approximately 10:00 p.m. Ramer has never been seen again. There was evidence of a struggle inside her bedroom and she was alone in the house at the time she vanished. She vanished four days before she was due to start her senior year of high school.

Ramer's parents reported her as a missing person on August 17, two days after she was last seen. It is possible that Ramer may have been taken against her will. Her personal belongings were left behind at the home, including her eyeglasses, her contacts, jewelry, and money. Foul play is suspected by both the police and Ramer's family. Her boyfriend and all her family members have been ruled out as suspects.

Nine months after Ramer's disappearance, on her eighteenth birthday, investigators searched a rural Walton County lake. They were acting on two tips that her body had been dumped there. The search lasted three days and turned up no clues relating to Ramer's case. In 2001, a non-profit group in Texas searched Baptism Hole with cadaver dogs and got several hits. They dug up an engine block with a rope tied to it, but had to leave the site before they could excavate it completely. The next day the FBI brought in its own dogs, which gave no indication of smelling human remains, so there were no more searches conducted in that area.

Ramer was a student at the University of South Alabama at the time of her disappearance. She was majoring in physical therapy. In September 2006, investigators searched a sinkhole near Ponce de Leon, Florida for Ramer's remains after receiving an anonymous tip directing them to that location. The search turned up no evidence and Ramer's case remains unsolved.