Lunsford was employed at the Wal-Mart store in the Village Marketplace Shopping Center on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County, Virginia. She worked a shift during the evening hours of December 25 into the early morning hours of December 26, 1996 to prepare for the post-holiday clearance sales. Lunsford and a co-worker purchased breakfast at a nearby fast-food restaurant at approximately 8:30 AM on December 26. She was scheduled to pick up her three daughters from her mother's house afterwards. Lunsford never arrived.

Family members found her 1994 burgundy Nissan Sentra in front of the Food Lion store in the Village Marketplace, just north of McDonald's. Her car was locked.

John Howard, a former co-worker, was convicted of Linda's murder. Her body though, has never been found.