Bauer left her hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota and flew from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Atlanta, Georgia, arriving on February 12, 2016. 

For one night she stayed with someone she met online. She was supposed to clean and do chores for the man until she found a job and could pay rent, but he asked her to leave, so she checked into a hotel.

She worked for about a week as an exotic dancer in Gainesville, Georgia, then returned to Atlanta, where she was sighted at the Tease strip club on Cheshire Bridge Road on February 25. The club manager said she had applied for a job, but didn't have the correct paperwork.

Bauer kept in close touch with her friends after she left South Dakota, but all the contact stopped on February 25. She was last seen at a Citgo gas station in the 3200 block of Highway 278 in Covington, Georgia in the early morning hours of February 27. Since then, she hasn't been on social media, which is very uncharacteristic of her; she normally posted daily. She had very little money at the time of hr disappearance.

The circumstances of Bauer's disappearance are unclear. 

Police stated there's no evidence of foul play in her case, but her family fears she could be in danger. 

She may still be in the Atlanta metropolitan area. 

Her case remains unsolved.