Watkins was last seen on May 17, 1979 in Modesto, packing her belongings into a car. She was last seen by a friend, with who she had been living. She told her friend she was moving to San Jose to live with her daughter. Watkins never made it to her daughters home. Her vehicle was found two days later in the parking lot of what now is known as the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation building at 600 Coffee Road. None of her property was in the car.