Katrina Dawn Sweaney was 25 when she disappeared from Grants Pass, Oregon, on a day in early March 1998. She told her mother she was driving to Roseburg with her husband and a friend to help keep the driver awake and said she would be back that night or the next morning; she never called. Some reports say she was with her husband and a friend, while others say she was with a couple she had recently met. Her parents never saw the individuals or the vehicle she left in, and their identities remain unclear.

Katrina was living with her parents and her three young children at the time. The family says she would not have willingly abandoned the children. She had struggled with drugs and a history of domestic violence and had previously sought restraining orders. Distinguishing features include red or auburn hair, blue eyes, a small scar on her right cheek, and several tattoos: one behind her right shoulder, one above her left breast, one on her right hand near the thumb, and one on an ankle. Anyone with information is asked to come forward.