Wood was last seen at approximately 1:30 a.m. on August 4, 1996 in Oswego, New York. She was driving her red 1993 Toyota Corolla at the time. The vehicle has a broken driver's side mirror and the New York license plate number R7L-871. Wood had left her six-year-old son with a babysitter and gone out for the evening. She was last seen leaving Anthony's Bar and Grill on east 3rd Street. Witnesses stated she got into an argument with her boyfriend at the bar shortly before her disappearance. She has never been heard from again and her car has not been located either. At the time of her disappearance, Wood was carrying a large handbag containing her journal, wallet and checkbook. Since her disappearance she hasn't used her bank account or credit cards.

Before she went missing, Wood had told her loved ones she thought she was being stalked, possibly by a man who drove a white car. It's unclear whether the alleged stalking is related to her disappearance.

Wood is the youngest of five children and she attended the Bryant and Stratton Business Institute. At the time of her disappearance, she worked in the cosmetics department of Kaufmann's Department Store. She was estranged from her husband, who is the father of her six-year-old son. Wood's case remains unsolved and her family believes she met with foul play, because they don't think she would have abandoned her child. They describe her as a naive, trusting and passive woman. She was declared legally dead after her disappearance.