The disappearance of Lisa Renée Irwin was reported after it was discovered that she was missing from her home in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early morning hours of October 4, 2011.

[5][6] On October 19, 2011, a search was performed of the Irwin home, and court documents showed that a cadaver dog turned up a scent of a dead body that might have been Lisa, near the mother's bed.

In October, the Irwin family reported that an anonymous benefactor had hired a private investigator, and issued a $100,000 reward for Lisa's return.

[12][13] Lisa's brothers had been scheduled for interviews and to collect DNA samples regarding the case, but their parents cancelled the night before, according to Tacopina,[14] the family's attorney, and have allegedly denied investigators access to the boys.

[6] In May 2012, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin reported that their debit card had been fraudulently used on a website that provides false birth certificates.