Babb was last seen in Vallejo, California on June 29, 2016, when a coworker dropped her off at a fish market after work. She has never been heard from again.

At 8:45 p.m. the next day, her son got a text message from an unknown number, demanding a $60,000 ransom for Babb's safe return and threatening to kill her if her son didn't pay or went to the police. He replied to  the  message, but got no response. He thought it might be a joke, but when he checked her apartment, her Chihuahua was dead and Babb herself was gone. There were no indications of forced entry.

Babb's son stated she would be an unlikely candidate for ransom kidnapping; she worked for an orthotics lab and was not wealthy, and had recently filed for bankruptcy. She lived alone with her dog in the 100 block of Daniels Avenue Vallejo, and her son said she had no known enemies and he couldn't think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt her.

Police arrested four suspects in early July: Emmanuel Espinoza, who knows Babb, Jalon Brown, Lovely Rauzol and Larry Young. They were all charged with ransom kidnapping. Espinoza, called the "primary suspect," knew Babb and had previously lived with her daughter in Babb's apartment for years.

In August, the charges against Espinoza were upgraded to murder during ransom kidnapping. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. The kidnapping charges against the other three suspects were dropped in September, but Brown and Young were charged with acting as accessories to a felony. Rauzol was cleared of all charges.

The case against the three suspects is pending. Babb has never been found and is presumed dead.