Mizener resided in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 2004. In December 2004, she was on a week-long vacation with her parents and teenage daughter on the Carnival Cruise Lines cruise ship Carnival Pride. A photograph of the ship is posted below this case summay. Mizener was last seen at 9:15 p.m. on December 4, while the ship was 30 miles off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico, 120 miles south of San Diego, California. The ship was bound for Long Beach, California and was scheduled to arrive the following day.

The search for Mizener began at 10:00 p.m. There was no sign of her aboard the ship, although her purse was found next to a three-foot railing on one of the lower decks at 11:00 p.m. Mizener's loved ones stated she would have avoided that deck, as it was a smoking deck. The passenger who found the purse stated that a nearby security camera had been covered up.

Authorities believe Mizener fell or was pushed overboard, but there were no witnesses to the incident. It is not thought that she committed suicide; although she filed for bankruptcy shortly before her disappearance, her loved ones stated she was not depressed. An extensive search of the ocean turned up no clues as to Mizener's whereabouts.

Mizener was declared legally dead in July 2005. She has a daughter and a son and adopted two additional children shortly before her disappearance. She got a bachelor's degree in marketing from Upper Iowa University and she and her husband ran a business together, Ideal Health and Bio-Essentials, which sold dietary supplements. Mizener's case remains unsolved. Her family believes foul play was involved in her disappearance. In November 2005, her husband sued Carnival Cruise Lines for over $15,000 in damages.

Above: The Carnival Pride