Everett was last seen by one his employees on July 5, 1996 in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. He owned Eat and Company, a business located in the Park Manor neighborhood of the city. He and his wife lived with their children in the 8100 block of south Rhodes Avenue.

Everett's mother reported him missing when she was unable to contact him by July 17, 1996, 12 days after Everett was last seen. His wife, Lydia Thompson, and his two sons, Everett Thompson Jr. and Andrew Thompson, disappeared along with Everett. None of the family members have been heard from again.

Lydia's brother, Kenneth White, was questioned several times regarding his sister's family's whereabouts. He is an ex-convict who had lived with the family during the summer of 1996 and in early July, Lydia called 911 to report that he had threatened to kill her with an ax. White had been indicted for falsifying Lydia's signature on a check shortly after she was last seen. He was driving her van when he was arrested. White committed suicide in December 1997, while in jail on suspicion of mail fraud. Before his death he did not reveal any possible information he may have concealed regarding the Thompsons' cases. White was never charged in connection with their disappearances. He has a record of kidnapping and rape. Bloody clothing, including a boy's sock, was found in his trailer after the Thompson family's disappearance, but it was not released whose blood it was.

In June 1998, investigators searched White's former residence and the area around it for the Thompson family's bodies, but they did not find human remains.

There was speculation that the Thompsons may have left Chicago and traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or St. Paul, Minnesota. No evidence has been located to prove these theories. The family's cases remain unsolved.