Louis and Betty Balas vanished from their Wilshire district home in Los Angeles on December 13, 1980. Investigators who searched the house found the front door open, the television on, and a bathtub filled with water, but no obvious signs of a struggle. Their maroon 1978 Cadillac was recovered the next day in a vacant lot about seven miles from the house, without immediate signs of foul play.

Louis Balas was 77 and had a documented heart condition; he left behind nitroglycerin medication. His disappearance came one day before he was due to testify in court about an alleged 1978 kidnapping and robbery. Authorities have described the circumstances as suspicious and have said as many as three people, possibly including a pregnant woman, may have been involved, though that link has not been proven. The couple has never been found.

Did anyone in Los Angeles at the time notice the couple, their Cadillac, or anything unusual around December 13–14, 1980?