TN TN - Tabitha Tuders, 13, Nashville, 29 Apr 2003

[chaddylex]

Just curious, I’m not sure if people are still posting on this but has any of the officers looked into the unidentified bodies through out the US since 2003? I know we don’t want to believe it and I personally think that she is probably buried right in the area around her house. But I have done some research.. a lot of of it and I have found some unidentified that match her description , some with models other with out . But this could be a way to see if she has come up through out the world unidentified.. couldn’t (if they haven’t) do DNA on these and see if they are her? You would think they have DNA in evidence to match right ?

Hi Lexie78,

Tabitha is listed in NamUs. (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) I am guessing they have DNA - she has 6 rule outs from other unidentified bodies in the US.
Here is the list
UP3043 11/23/2008 Fond du Lac WI
UP1405 10/29/2006 Gregg TX
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA
UP74 07/22/2005 Jefferson KY
UP8642 03/30/2011 Fulton GA
UP4725 03/10/2007 Marion OH
Here is Tabitha's link The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

You can sign up as a public member where you can view all the missing persons and unidentified cases along with rule outs.

 

[Veritas88]

Does anyone happen to know anything about the tip that lead to the recent search? I'm from the area and watched the news on it but it was never stated what the tip was.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I wonder about the tip from the boy saying that she got into a red car. What did they do forensically to look into this tip? (I'm referring to the red car, etc known of at the time.)

My heart goes out to Tabitha and her family.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Tabitha Tuders has been missing for 18 years.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Tabitha Tuders (Missing Person) — The Suitcase Detective

Tabitha Tuders ➜ Missing 2003. Disappeared while walking to school. May have been kidnapped in red or green car. May have been trafficked (TN to IN). May be related to disappearance of Heaven Ross, Shannon Paulk, and Teresa Dean.

thesuitcasedetective.com

 

[cordet]

I wonder about the tip from the boy saying that she got into a red car. What did they do forensically to look into this tip? (I'm referring to the red car, etc known of at the time.)

My heart goes out to Tabitha and her family.

 

[somequestions]

The moment Tabitha Tuders was inside the car this became a very difficult case to solve. No video and no body so it is anyone's guess as to what happened to Tabitha Tuders. By the time she was reported missing she could have been hundreds of miles away. Even if the car was from some other area in Nashville, where do you start to look?

You almost hope in a case like this that somehow the crime was local and that somehow the detectives investigating the case get lucky and solve it.

 

[somequestions]

Tabitha Tuders case was featured in the Disappeared episode titled, Last Stop. There is one aspect of this case that I think would probably confuse people who come across it for the first time. Tabitha Tuders disappeared on the way to her school bus stop on April 29, 2003. It should really be phrased that Tabitha disappeared on her way to the second school bus stop.

I wonder why the abductor did not wait for Tabitha Tuders along 14th Street before she even got to her first bus stop. They could have parked along the road and when she walked by, motioned for her or got out of their car and approached her.

But the main question that would bother me, especially considering you cannot see someone walking down Boscobel while you are driving north or south on 14th street is the following: How does the abductor know she has not already been picked up by the school bus?

Finally, there are people themselves who witnessed Tabitha Tuders walking that morning when she crossed over 14th street to walk down Boscobel to the second school bus stop at 15th street. This is why I tend to believe someone sitting on their porch because that person would notice the same thing every day. Often times when people sit out on their porch at a certain time it is either habit or to observe something they see around that same time every day.

 

[chaddylex]

And Then They Were Gone Podcast released an episode about Tabitha's Disappearance

Missing: Tabitha Tudors — And Then They Were Gone

On the morning of April 29, 2003, Bo Tuders woke his daughter Tabitha up for school and put her favorite TV show on. He said goodbye as he left for work. 13-year-old Tabitha always got herself off to school, and this day was no different. Tabitha left her home that morning and walked toward her bus

www.andthentheyweregone.com

EPISODE 335: TABITHA TUDERS​

Oct 23
On the morning of April 29, 2003, Bo Tuders woke his daughter Tabitha up for school and put her favorite TV show on. He said goodbye as he left for work. 13-year-old Tabitha always got herself off to school, and this day was no different. Tabitha left her home that morning and walked toward her bus stop. But then she disappeared. Police initially misclassified Tabitha as a runaway, but her family knew in their hearts that she didn’t leave on her own. Was Tabitha abducted by a stranger, or by someone whom she thought she could trust?
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Tabitha Tuders , please call the Nashville Metro Police Department at 615-862-8600. There is a $50,000 reward in her case.
Listen on your favorite podcast app
Get episodes early and ad-free on Patreon
For a full list of our sources, please visit our blog

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 1, 2022

Unsolved missing child cases in Tennessee date back up to 40 years: Have you seen any of them?

In some cases, the missing children have been declared legally dead, but their disappearances remain under investigation until they can be found.

www.wate.com

Tabitha Tuders​

It’s been 19 years since 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders was last seen walking to a bus stop just blocks from her home on Lillian Street in East Nashville. Her family has not heard from her since, but they continue to hold a candlelight vigil for her each year.

“The hardest part is not knowing if she’s still here with us or not,” Debra Tuders told News 2 in a 2019 interview. “We have hope she is, we’ll keep on believing she is until we know otherwise.”

Detective: Tabitha Tuders may have been abducted, drugged and forced into prostitution

According to police, there are several potential suspects in the case, but tips continue to name one man currently serving a “lengthy” sentence in federal prison. While no charges have been filed yet, the primary suspect is known to be involved in prostitution in the East Nashville area.

Tuders, who was last described as 5’01” tall with sandy hair and blue eyes, would be 32 years old today. She has a birthmark on her stomach, a scar on her finger and her ears are
pierced.

If you have seen Tabitha Tuders, contact the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department at (615) 862-8600, or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

 

[Luckycharm13]

I was just listening to the unsolved mysteries version of the Tabitha Tudors case. I know this seems like a minor detail or suggestion but I was looking up comments to see if anyone has ever suggested that the initial MTL found with Tabithas initials on a piece of paper was ever speculated to maybe stand for “My True Love”. It may not be someone’s actual name initials but remembering what it was like to be a 13 year old girl crushing, it def could be possibly that she was referring to someone as this. Just an idea ‍

 

[chaddylex]

20 years after Tabitha Tuders disappeared, the search for clues continues

On the 20th anniversary of Tabitha Tuders' disappearance, the Metro Nashville Police Department remains committed to solving the case.

www.newschannel5.com

20 years after Tabitha Tuders disappeared, the search for clues continues​

By: Emily Luxen
Posted at 9:25 PM, Apr 24, 2023

and last updated 11:49 PM, Apr 24, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Twenty years after an East Nashville teenager disappeared while walking to the bus stop, the search for clues continues.
On April 29, 2003, Metro Police say Tabitha Tuders left her home on Lillian Street to walk about a block to the bus stop. However, she never made it on the bus and never arrived at Bailey Middle School. Witnesses told police they saw a car pull up next to her, and then a few seconds later, it drove off and she was gone. Descriptions of the car have varied from a Volkswagon Bug to a Ford Mustang, and the color could be red or green.

When Tabitha did not return home from school that afternoon, her parents knew something was wrong. After notifying the police, volunteers and neighbors helped scour her neighborhood for any sign of the 13-year-old. They came up empty-handed.
A faded banner with her photo and description has been hanging in the front porch of the Tuders' home ever since she disappeared. Her parents say the sign will stay up until they find their daughter. Inside the home, Tabitha's bedroom has been mostly untouched. Photos of Tabitha still hang on the walls, and her family talks about her often to keep her memory alive.
"It hits you in a way," said Bo Tuders, Tabitha's father. "It just tears your heart out."
Metro Police said they still receive tips on a regular basis on the case, and they follow up on every piece of new information they receive. However, at this point, every tip has been a dead end. Still, investigators aren't giving up hope the case can be solved.

"There are some tips that have come in that have been somewhat promising," said Matthew Filter, a Detective with the Metro Police Department's Cold Case-Homicide/Missing Persons unit. "At least if you are getting tips, it's just a matter of getting the right tip that comes in."
"If there's somebody out there that knows what happened, it's been 20 years," said Bo Tuders. "Please let someone know so we can get her back where she belongs."
Tabitha's family has held regular vigils on the anniversary of her disappearance and continues to celebrate her birthday.
"We actually need some kind of closure before the good Lord takes us away," said Bo Tuders. "If we don't see her here, we will see her when we meet him."
Anyone with information about Tabitha Tuders is asked to contact the Metro Police Department Cold Case Unit at 615-862-7803 or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous.

 

[somequestions]

I think a case is very tough to solve when you cannot even come up with any new ideas to help solve it.

One thing I am starting to be very skeptical of is the eyewitness statements that Tabitha Tuders got into a vehicle. The reason is that I read that people have described the car as anything between a Volkswagen Bug and a Ford Mustang. One thing I would like to point out is that walking on Boscobel Street between 14th and 15th streets where Tabitha Tuders disappeared requires walking on the road. There is no sidewalk. I wonder sometimes if this was some type of optical illusion with Tabitha Tuders walking next to vehicles on the way to the bus stop at 15th Street?

I can only offer what I might have done back in 2003 in hindsight. Here is the list:

1. Get a stopwatch and measure how long it takes to walk between 14th and 15th street along Boscobel Street.

2. Stand in the same place as the kids at 15th street bus stop at the same time of day and see how the sun affects your vision(if it was a sunny day).

3. Ask if Tabitha Tuders had any major assignments or tests due on April 29th. A good student would probably not pick that day to miss school.

4. Go to her middle school and look through all of her textbooks, especially the front and back covers, to see if maybe there is some type of notation that might explain the "MTL" initials note. Check her desk and locker.

5. Get pet registrations for people who live along Boscobel Street between 14th and 15th streets. Maybe she was lured into a home along the street by a pet?

6. Make a list of the people along Tabitha Tuders route to school that have porches? Talk to these people. Maybe Tabitha Tuders stopped to talk to one of these people? I know it is unlikely since she had a bus to catch.

7. See if the bus driver remembers anything or has any video capturing the houses along Boscobel before and after the date of the abduction, April 29th, 2003.

8. Make a video for at least 3 straight Tuesdays to capture what the area looked like in April 2003 because you never know how long it will take to solve a missing person's case. Things change and having a history of what things looked like at the time is important.

9. Check driveways in the area to see if anyone might have had some type of classic or racing car. Maybe this started a conversation?

I doubt anyone thought this case would go on for this long. I hope Tabitha Tuders's parents get some type of answer as to what happened to her the morning of April 29th, 2003.

 

[sirensynapse]

That she get into a car (11 year old boy saw her get into a red one) was supposedly somewhat confirmed by the fact that police dogs followed her scent to the described location, and no further. Seems most obvious and likely that she, for whatever reason, got into a car with someone.

 

[JnRyan]

It's been a while since I visited this case. Then I recently listened to "And Then They Were Gone" podcast. This one is going to be tough to crack. Probably the only way will be if this abductor commits another crime, gets caught and then confesses to this one. Who knows....without DNA or fingerprints or sketch he may already be in prison for something similar and hasn't said anything about Tabitha.

 

[somequestions]

Here is a brief summary of Tabitha Tuder's probable walking movements on the morning of April 29, 2003 in East Nashville, Tennessee:

Tabitha Tuders left her home on Lillian Street in East Nashville on the morning of April 29, 2003 to walk to her school bus stop. She left the house and walked to the right down the sidewalk along Lillian and then made another right to walk down the sidewalk on 14th Street. Supposedly some people saw her walking while reading a piece of paper. It is thought this piece of paper was her report card as she had recently got good grades.

She got to the corner of 14th and a crossing street called Boscobel Street. Here is where the case gets sort of interesting. At the corner of Boscobel and 14th Street, there is a house with a raised lawn. Around the lawn is a raised concrete edge. Someone waiting could sit on the concrete edge. According to what I remember, Tabitha's mother did not want her waiting there alone sitting on that concrete edge as 14th street looks like it is a main street through the neighborhood. Tabitha's mother told her that if other kids were not there waiting at that bus stop at 14th and Boscobel, she should walk to the school bus stop at 15th and Boscobel where more kids are waiting for the school bus to go to school.

There is not a stop sign for vehicles traveling on 14th Street to stop at the corner of Boscobel street. Tabitha had to be careful, looking both ways and cross 14th Street to start walking down Boscobel towards the other bus stop at 15th and Boscobel. As the story goes, a boy waiting for the bus at 15th and Boscobel could see her walking towards them when a car pulled up next to Tabitha Tuders and she got inside. The car then turned around and left the area. Also, that section of Boscobel does not have sidewalks so Tabitha Tuders would literally have to be walking on the street towards the other students waiting at 15th and Boscobel. Once Tabitha Tuders got into the car, that was the last time she was seen alive.

Sometimes I question whether or not the witness actually saw Tabitha Tuders walking towards them or whether or not she got into a car. A dog scent, however, seemed to confirm she got about halfway(?) down Boscobel between 14th and 15th street.

After looking at homes in the area, there do seem to be quite a few that have large porches where a person could sit outside and observe someone walking down the street. I wonder how many people were up that morning and can confirm Tabitha Tuder's movements?

There are many guesses you can make in a case like this. It could be a next-door neighbor that saw Tabitha Tuders leave that morning. Another theory is that she was abducted or simply got into car with someone she knew. But if that is the case, it does seem sort of strange this person waited until she had walked to where she did in her school bus station walking route.

My opinion is that she was abducted by someone living along Boscobel Street. Once I saw that section of Boscobel did not have sidewalks, I thought it was very possible that Tabitha walking between a car could appear as her going to enter a parked vehicle. I have never read that the young witness could ever say whether or not the car went right or left on 14th Street after picking up Tabitha? Is this information out there somewhere?

Why Tabitha would walk towards a house is anyone's guess. Maybe she saw a dog or cat if she liked animals? Maybe she saw a nice car that she wanted to look at? It also seems strange too that there does not appear to be any witnesses along Boscobel between 14th and 15th streets as these people would have a much better view of Tabitha Tuders walking than the boy waiting at the school bus stop at 15th and Boscobel.

If it truly was someone in a car who pulled up and Tabitha got inside, then that car could have gone anywhere afterwards. But I would want to make sure it was not a resident along Boscobel between 14th and 15th streets.

The sad thing is that to this day no one knows whether or not Tabitha Tuders is even dead or alive. This case is a textbook example of why missing person's cases are so hard to solve.

 

[somequestions]

Here are a few more statistics from the day Tabitha Tuders disappeared, Tuesday, April 29, 2003.

Tabitha's mother told her not to leave the house on Lillian Street until around 7:50 am each morning. That gives her 5 minutes to walk to the first bus stop at 14th and Boscobel Street. Then it gives her 5 minutes to wait at that bus stop or walk to the next school bus stop at 15th and Boscobel(if there are no other kids at the 14th and Boscobel bus stop).

The weather at about 7:50 am that morning was 66 degrees F with fair weather conditions. It means it was between sunny and cloudy with calm winds. Tabitha would have been walking east on Boscobel Street, and if it was sunny at the time, the witness at the bus stop at 15th and Boscobel would have been looking into the east.

I have never read whether or not Tabitha Tuders was walking on the left side of Boscobel Street or the right side of Boscobel Street as she walked towards 15th and Boscobel. If she was walking on the left side(into oncoming traffic), then if a car pulled up the driver would have to talk to her through the driver's side window and if Tabitha got into the car she would have to go around the front of the car or the back of the car to get into the passenger side seat.

If Tabitha was walking on the right side of Boscobel and in the same direction as traffic, when a car pulled up next her, the driver would have had to speak to her through the passenger side window. Maybe it was someone she knew who offered to take her to school?

As for the dog scent, supposedly the dogs lost her scent about the 3rd or 4th house down Boscobel after she crossed 14th street. Other reports say it was "about halfway" down Boscobel the dogs lost her scent. A few witnesses confirmed she crossed 14th Street and was walking towards 15th Street along Boscobel.

The young witness who said they saw Tabitha Tuders walking towards him as he waited for the bus at 15th and Boscobel has had his story questioned a few times. Some of the reasons include that the description of the car he said picked Tabitha up could be anything from a compact car to a sports car. The witness said the car that picked up Tabitha Tuders was red. Later on, another witness came forward who said the car was actually green.

Of the first 4 houses on the right side of Boscobel, 3 of them have chairs outside in the porch area. It is surprising more people did not see Tabitha Tuders walking along Boscobel Street that morning.

But maybe like so many other cases, we do not have all the information. This is a case I would like to see solved.