Viola was last seen on February 13, 2001, on her way home from the Bixby School Library where she volunteered in her hometown of Bogota, New Jersey. Her coworkers say she was quieter than usual the day of her disappearance. She was last heard from at 12:30 p.m. that day when she placed a telephone call from her residence in the 70 block of Chestnut Avenue. She returned a call to her mother, who describes their conversation as a normal one.

Viola has never been heard from again. Her family believes she may have had a seizure, become disoriented, and wandered away from her home. She left behind a husband and two children when she disappeared. She did not take her purse, identification, cellular phone, credit cards, keys, or any other personal belongings with her, but she may have had some money on her person. Viola is believed to have left her house at approximately 1:30 p.m., judging by the time she set the house alarm. None of the neighbors reported seeing anything unusual. Inquiries to area taxi companies turned up no information regarding Viola's disappearance, but her husband thinks she may have taken a taxi out of the area. Due to her epilepsy, she cannot drive, and she did not have access to a car at the time of her disappearance.

Viola may have been seen in Montana two years after her disappearance, in February 2003, hitchhiking at the intersection of U. S. Routes 2 and 56, but this sighting has not been confirmed. Her case remains unsolved.