Van Reeth was last seen during the morning hours of August 10, 1995 in Tucson, Arizona. She departed from her family's residence in the 2800 block of east MacKenzie Street in the Winterhaven area and was en route to her job at Tucson Electric Power, where she was a research coordinator in the tax services office, at the time of her disappearance. Van Reeth never arrived as expected and has never been heard from again.

Van Reeth's Ford Aerostar minivan was discovered abandoned on August 12, two days after her disappearance. The vehicle was parked in the 2800 block of East Fort Lowell Road in Tucson. Van Reeth's keys were inside the minivan, but there was no other evidence of her at the scene. Authorities stated that no indication of foul play was discovered.

Van Reeth's husband's fingerprints were located on the vehicle. He had been going by the name Don Stecchi. Investigators learned that he had been residing in Arizona under an assumed identity for over 20 years. His name was actually John Joseph Kalhauser and he was wanted in Massachusetts on aggravated assault and attempted murder charges stemming from a 1979 incident. Kalhauser was charged with trying to kill his former girlfriend's new boyfriend at the time. He fled to avoid a trial and relocated to Arizona. Authorities learned that Kalhauser pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he was 17 years old; he had shot and killed a man in Massachusetts.

Investigators do not know if Van Reeth was aware of her husband's actual identity or had any knowledge of his criminal past. She was in the process of divorcing Kalhauser at the time of her 1991 disappearance. Van Reeth was seeking custody of their two sons. Kalhauser was extradited back to Massachsuetts shortly after his wife disappeared and was sentenced to a 29-year prison sentence for the 1979 attempted murder charges. Authorities classified Van Reeth's case as a probable homicide afterwards.

Kalhauser pled no contest to Van Reeth's homicide in 1999 and was sentenced to 20 additional years in prison. His sentence will be served concurrently with the established Massachusetts jail time. Van Reeth's remains have never been located. Her parents stated they plan to raise her two children.