Newell was last seen at her Zanesville, Ohio residence on July 13, 1948. She told her family she was going to the grocery store, and never returned home. None of her personal belongings were missing. Her case was originally reported to the Zanesville Police Department, but is no longer on file there due to the amount of time that has passed since her disappearance.

After Newell's disappearance, numerous rumors circulated about what might have happened to her. She was said to have joined a traveling circus with a man named Dick Tidd, to have been murdered by her husband, or to be in a nursing home in Woodfield, Ohio. None of these rumors have been substantiated. The last promising lead in her case was in 1955, when there was a reported sighting of Newell in a town north of Zanesville. The lead was a dead end, however.

Newell has given birth to ten children. Her family is still looking for her and ask that any information be emailed to them. Her case remains unsolved and is no longer on file with any law enforcement agency due to the passage of time since her disappearance.