Very little is known about the disappearance of Larkin. She was 38 years old when she left her home and headed to Virginia by bus sometime between February and May 1985. Valerie made it to Needles and somehow lost all her money and her bus ticket. She called her parents for help and they wired her money to continue on her journey. There was no other contact with her after that. She is described as 5'2', 120 lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her teeth were in poor condition. She had a large chip in one or both of her upper front teeth that had not been corrected. She had a slight overbite.