Circumstances of Disappearance
Clark had been visiting friends and family in a rough neighborhood of Oakland on March 16, 1990. Her cousin recalled that Toni had trouble starting her boyfriend's car as she was getting ready to head home. Her car stalled on the Bay Bridge, and by the time it was reported to the California Highway Patrol, it had been hit from behind by another motorist.
Police believe Toni was in front of her vehicle when it was struck, and that she was thrown into the water below. Toni's body was never recovered from the bay, even though Coast Guard rescuers began their search within six minutes of the collision.
The Highway Patrol consulted an expert who said the body would have followed the tide out to the Golden Gate Bridge, and a few weeks later the case was closed.
Witnesses on the bridge gave police conflicting statements about the person they saw near the car. Some remembered a black man looking under the hood. Others saw a man walking away from the vehicle. And no one actually saw a body go over the railing, only the wreckage of her car after it was struck.
In the car itself, a bracelet Toni never removed was found along with the keys to the car lying on the passenger side floorboard.
Clark's mother received a telephone call from a girl she believes was her daughter one week following her disappearance. The girl was crying on the line for approximately 40 seconds before the call was terminated. Police were unable to trace the call.