David was last seen in Issaquah, Washington on May 3, 1968. After school he took the bus to his family's home on Southeast Tiger Mountain Road. They'd moved into the house just two months earlier. David went to a friend's house to play. He was due home for dinner at 5:00 p.m. He called his mother and asked to stay with his friend for longer, but she told him to come home. He set off on a local trail that was a shortcut home, but never arrived. After fifteen minutes his mother realized he was missing when she called David's friend's house and realized he wasn't there. An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of him, and he has never been heard from again. Authorities initially theorized that he fell down a mine shaft or was attacked by a cougar. They now believe he was abducted.

In 2009, police announced they were looking at a former neighbor as a possible suspect in David's disappearance. He was twenty years old 1968, and authorities believe he was the last person to see David before his disappearance. Tracker dogs traced the child's scent to the man's home, and investigators stated he was "very evasive" during questioning, doesn't have a convincing alibi, and failed a polygraph. The man, who now lives in Lewis County, Washington, maintains his innocence.

David has five siblings; he is the second-oldest child in the family. He was a third-grader at Clark Elementary School in 1968, and a good student. Both of parents are still alive and still live in King County, Washington. His disappearance remains unsolved.