Welch was last seen in Grand Saline, Texas on August 14, 2007. He has never been heard from again. His black four-door 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck was found abandoned at a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Highway 64 west in Tyler, Texas in April 2008.

Welch was convicted of injury to a child in connection with a sex offense in 2000; his victim was a twelve-year-old girl. He was on probation at the time of his disappearance and is required to register as a sex offender. The month of his disappearance, he didn't meet with his probation officer. In November 2007, he didn't complete his annual sex offender registration, and authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. Prior to his disappearance, he had never missed a meeting with his probation officer and had complied with all his sex offender registration requirements.

Investigators are uncertain whether Welch left of his own accord or whether he came to harm. His disappearance remains unsolved.