Monica Renee Bowie, 34, vanished from the Berkshire at Lenox Apartments in Atlanta the evening of July 5, 2007. Witnesses heard screams about 11:15 p.m. from the parking deck and saw a maroon 2002 Mercury Sable speed away with two men inside. Signs of a violent struggle were left at the scene: a green jacket, jewelry, a broken perfume bottle, eyeglasses, and two broken fingernails. The Sable was found the next day elsewhere in Atlanta, completely destroyed by fire.

Monica had been a valedictorian graduate of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and ran several small businesses, including an accounting practice, Go2girls Promotions Inc., and LaCoca Wear Clothing. She had met with her lawyer hours before the disappearance and was described as in good spirits. She was last seen wearing a dark green dress shirt and blue jeans and wore dental braces.

Two days after Monica disappeared, a man named Jasper Keels was arrested on a theft charge related to the Mercury Sable and was later charged with her kidnapping in September 2007. Investigators have explored possible links to illegal drug activity; Monica and her fiancé, Shernotta Rico Walters, had been arrested shortly before her disappearance after marijuana and a handgun were found in her vehicle, though those charges were dropped and Walters was jailed on a separate parole violation and was incarcerated when Monica went missing.