Vincent was last seen leaving her family's residence during the evening hours of June 5, 1988 in Wallingford, Connecticut. She never returned home and has not been seen again. She was carrying extra clothing and money with her when she disappeared.

Vincent moved in with her father and stepmother ten days before her disappearance. She was due to begin the eighth grade at West Woods Christian Academy that fall. She didn't like the rural atmosphere of Wallingford and missed her friends in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she'd lived previously. She ran away once to her mother's Bridgeport home. Authorities initially believed Vincent had run away from home when she disappeared in June 1988.

Vincent's father was known for his violent temper and his account of the day Vincent disappeared was inconsistent. He admitted he pushed her into a window, breaking it. When police searched Vincent's paternal grandmother's home for evidence in her disappearance, they found a gun and charged Vincent's father with being a felon in possession in a firearm. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Investigators suspect that Hadden Clark may have been involved in Vincent's disappearance. He was convicted of murdering a young woman and a six-year-old girl and claims to have killed nine other women and children along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Based on Clark's claims, police investigated him for involvement in several child disappearances and murders, Vincent's among them. He has not been charged in connection with any other cases, however, and police are unsure if he had anything to do with Vincent's case. Another suspect in her disappearance is a family member with a history of pedophilia. The individual has never been charged, however

Vincent's case remains unsolved. Authorities no longer believed ran away from her residence, but the circumstances of her disappearance remain unclear.