Olief Edmonds Nash, 79, and her sister Ivy Edmonds Hutchinson, 81, disappeared after leaving for a planned overnight camping trip to Butler Island, a remote wooded island three miles off Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County, Florida. They left on September 19, 2004, in a motorless aluminum rowboat without boat safety equipment; the sisters had planned to return on September 20 but were reported overdue the morning of September 21, 2004. Hutchinson was also considered hardy but less familiar with the island.

Hurricane Ivan was in the Gulf of Mexico as the sisters travelled. A fisherman reportedly warned them about the weather, but they continued. Searches by the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found no trace of the women or their boat. Investigators noted the island route passes through shallow water that could allow wading to shore, yet they also considered that strong hurricane winds might have pushed the small boat into deeper water. Has anyone with knowledge of Butler Island or that stretch of Gulf coastline seen evidence that could help explain what happened?