I think I found where the issue was.

Once I removed the rear trim pieces and the two rear clips holding the headliner, I noticed one bolt was loose on each side of the hatch hinge. so I tightened them up and going to Lowe's tomorrow to hopefully buy the plastic clips to secure the panel.

I am not certain if the previous owner had removed the hatch, I would assume so, to fix something. But I fixed it! I hope...