Szabo was last seen in San Diego County, California on October 1, 1983. She had a troubled life prior to her disappearance. She ran away from home as a teenager and gave birth to four children over the course of eleven years; every one of them was eventually put up for adoption. She was involved with drugs, crime, and prostitution, and was jailed several times in the 1970s. She traveled from New York to California and used at least fifteen different alias names and several Social Security numbers.

In the early 1980s Szabo tried to pull her life together and enrolled in community college. She was arrested for probation violation and served a term in Frontera State Prison. Following her release, Szabo told her family she would be traveling to Dallas, Texas to visit them and would call in two weeks. She never did and has never been heard from again.

One of Szabo's daughters is searching for her. She believes her mother may have started a new life under a new identity. San Bernardino County, California police are investigating Szabo's disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.