Chavez resided with his roommate and relative, Gilberto Gonzales, in Tucson, Arizona in 1996. The men lived in an apartment in the 1800 block of Irvington Road. They were both employed at a business on south Sixth Avenue at the time.

Gonzales and Chavez were last seen in Tucson on January 20, 1996. Their friends became concerned when the men failed to arrive for a scheduled event during the day. Their residence was checked and the door to their apartment was discovered unlocked. The keys were inside the home and their vehicle was parked nearby. All of Gonzales and Chavez's personal belongings had been left behind. There was no evidence of a struggle inside the apartment. Gonzales and Chavez have never been heard from again. Their cases are unsolved.

Some agencies give the date of the two men's disappearances as January 21, 1996.