Wilkes departed Jefferson City, Missouri en route for his girlfriend's home in Florissant, Missouri at 4:00 p. m. on August 24, 2007. He was driving a leased dark metallic green 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe with Oklahoma license plates 847-ZVE, expiration date 03-08, at the time. Surveillance cameras filmed Wilkes at a Quik-Trip convenience store in St. Peters, Missouri at 10:30 p. m. that day, and financial records confirmed he made a purchase there. He never arrived to see his girlfriend and has never been heard from again.