Baird was last seen at a party in Atlanta, Georgia on December 31, 1969. It has been stated that Gloria left that party with three men. She had joined the Army a few months prior, and was subsequently listed as AWOL. Baird was on an approved leave from the Army at the time of her disappearance. Gloria had been stationed at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in Indiana (now closed) and Ft. McClellan in Alabama. Her abandoned Volkswagen Beetle was found on the side of a road in Georgia, though no one saw her walking. When she disappeared, she left behind a two-year-old daughter.