Hurst was last seen leaving his residence on Sunny Eve Road off of eastbound Highway 78 in Oxford, Alabama at 9:00 p.m. on January 26, 1996. He planned to attend a Super Bowl party at the nearby Red Horse Lounge at the time of his disappearance. Hurst never arrived at the lounge and has not been heard from again. Hurst was driving his blue 1990 Dodge Caravan with Alabama license plates numbered 11FDH99 at the time of his disappearance. It was located at the Georgia Welcome Center off Interstate 20. Hurst's former wife was reportedly the last person to see him prior to his disappearance. She said she realized he was missing when one of his friends at the Red Horse Lounge called asking why he had not arrived there yet.

Authorities believe Jack David "Jackie" Stovall, an acquaintance of Hurst's, may have been involved in his disappearance. He has a history of violence and allegedly broke Hurst's brother's arm several years prior to 1996. Six months after Hurst went missing, Stovall was arrested and charged with attempting to hire another man, William Oneal Rhodes, to kill Barry Jackson, one of Hurst's friends. The two men went to the Georgia Welcome Center to discuss the planned hit. Stovall's home was robbed by three masked men sometime prior to Hurst's disappearance, and he apparently believed Hurst and Jackson were two of the prepetrators. Stovall allegedly told Rhodes he had had Hurst tortured and killed, then hidden the body where no one would find it.

In late 1997, Stovall pleaded guilty to attempted murder-for-hire. He is still a suspect in Hurst's disappearance and in the murder of Daryl "Monkey" Adams, whose body was found in a limousine at the Alabama Show Palace in the summer of 1997. Stovall has not been charged in either of those cases, however.

everal of Hurst's family members believe he was the victim of foul play. His case remains unsolved.