Garman was last seen at a party in the Mark Twain National Forest off H Highway near Chadwick, Missouri on September 24, 1996. He and a female acquaintance from Arkansas were visiting friends in the area and joined the party, which had about fifteen guests and lasted several days.

Cornelia was vacationing with her son, Max Meyer, her boyfriend, 34-year-old Egbert Rimkus, and Rimkus’s son, Georg Weber, in July 1996. Photographs and vital statistics for Max are unavailable. A photo of Rimkus is posted below this case summary. They were all from Germany and were vacationing in California in the United States. They were last known to be at Death Valley in Inyo County, California. They bought a booklet at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center; the receipt for the transaction was dated July 22, 1996.