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

[JSolt1210]

I just watched this case on Disappeared, and I pretty much have to echo what margarita25 said above. Whatever happened Tabitha, it was probably over that same day unfortunately.

As for the eyewitness accounts: is it possible the first witness may have been red-green colorblind? If the car was actually green, when the first witness mistakenly saw red, then it matches the second eyewitness account, which linked the green car to a Hispanic male, 18 years old at the time, known to Tabitha. The two "allegedly would smoke cigarettes" together, according to the detective. If the Hispanic male's skin was more tan in complexion, then the first witness could've easily confused him for a Black male.

I realize this Hispanic male passed a lie detector test, but polygraphs are not 100% accurate. That's why they're usually not admissible in a court of law. I'm disturbed by the comments he was reported to have made, things like "Now they're gonna come looking for me," and "It wasn't supposed to happen this way," or something to that effect.

If Tabitha and this male were already sneaking around to smoke cigarettes together, then what else could they have been doing?

Here's a scenario I envision:

Tabitha is walking to the bus stop looking at her report card when the Hispanic male drives by in his green car. He's cutting school and invites her in so they can smoke together. Tabitha figures why not—but she can't cut school. They can hang for a bit if he promises to drive her to school later. She can always say she missed her bus. After all, she just got good grades, and she's "never late," as her mom says, so she'd be readily believed because they know she works hard and is punctual.

He agrees so she gets into his car—willingly, just as the eyewitness seemed to describe—and the two go off to smoke together when the male makes a pass at her. Tabitha is understandably upset, says she's going to tell, and one thing leads to another. Maybe that's why "it wasn't supposed to be that way."

If this wasn't a random abduction, then this is about the only sense I can make out of this case.

 

[Veritas88]

I tend to believe a random abduction, but I could be wrong. It just seems so strange that so much time has passed but no new information has seemed to surface.

 

[HayLouise]

Missing: Tabitha Tuders
Tabitha Danielle Tuders, 13, was last seen in Nashville, Tenn., on April 29, 2003. Her age now: 28.

Have information?

Call 911 or 1-800-843-5678 [1-800-THE-LOST]

Missing children: Have you seen them?

 

[Jim_M]

Bumping in March

 

[TwinMama]

Family still "heartbroken" 16 years after daughter Tabitha Tuders vanished from Nashville home

 

[darmela]

I just watched the episode myself and completely agree with everything you said in your post. It's what makes the most sense to me.

I just watched this case on Disappeared, and I pretty much have to echo what margarita25 said above. Whatever happened Tabitha, it was probably over that same day unfortunately.

As for the eyewitness accounts: is it possible the first witness may have been red-green colorblind? If the car was actually green, when the first witness mistakenly saw red, then it matches the second eyewitness account, which linked the green car to a Hispanic male, 18 years old at the time, known to Tabitha. The two "allegedly would smoke cigarettes" together, according to the detective. If the Hispanic male's skin was more tan in complexion, then the first witness could've easily confused him for a Black male.

I realize this Hispanic male passed a lie detector test, but polygraphs are not 100% accurate. That's why they're usually not admissible in a court of law. I'm disturbed by the comments he was reported to have made, things like "Now they're gonna come looking for me," and "It wasn't supposed to happen this way," or something to that effect.

If Tabitha and this male were already sneaking around to smoke cigarettes together, then what else could they have been doing?

Here's a scenario I envision:

Tabitha is walking to the bus stop looking at her report card when the Hispanic male drives by in his green car. He's cutting school and invites her in so they can smoke together. Tabitha figures why not—but she can't cut school. They can hang for a bit if he promises to drive her to school later. She can always say she missed her bus. After all, she just got good grades, and she's "never late," as her mom says, so she'd be readily believed because they know she works hard and is punctual.

He agrees so she gets into his car—willingly, just as the eyewitness seemed to describe—and the two go off to smoke together when the male makes a pass at her. Tabitha is understandably upset, says she's going to tell, and one thing leads to another. Maybe that's why "it wasn't supposed to be that way."

If this wasn't a random abduction, then this is about the only sense I can make out of this case.

 

[Murkywaters]

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

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One day shy of Tabitha Tuders’ 30th birthday, the Metro detective in charge of the case has released new information about her disappearance nearly 17 years ago.

In a one-on-one interview Friday morning, Detective Steven Jolley told News 2 that from the beginning, “many tips” have come in suggesting that Tabitha might’ve been abducted, drugged and forced into prostitution in the Dickerson Road and Trinity Lane area. Those same tips continue to come in, the detective explained.

Jolley revealed tips also continue to name one man currently serving a “lengthy” sentence in a federal prison, known to be involved in prostitution in the East Nashville area. The detective explained that man, whose name has not been released, is one of many “potential suspects” in Tabitha’s disappearance.

 

[somequestions]

I saw this case on the show Disappeared. The case of 13 year old Tabitha Tuders is an example of a tough missing person's case to solve. On the morning of April 29, 2003, Tabitha got up to go to school as usual. She had to take a school bus. This bus usually arrived at around 8:05 am. Tabitha lived on Lillian Street close to 14th street. Her bus stop was at the corner of 14th Street and Boscobel. Sometimes there were not a lot of other kids at her bus stop and her mother did not want her sitting on the concrete wall that lined the sidewalk waiting for the bus. If she was early to this bus stop and no one was there, her mother had instructed her to walk down Boscobel to 15th street, the next bus stop where more children would be waiting.

On the morning of her disappearance various individuals described seeing Tabitha make it to the corner of 14th and Boscobel to wait for her bus. Since she was probably early a few individuals also saw her cross 14th street and head down Boscobel towards 15th street. The main witness in the case, a boy she went to school with, was waiting at the corner of 15th and Boscobel. He could see Tabitha walking towards him that morning and later reported that about halfway down Boscobel a red car pulled up alongside Tabitha and she got inside. He said it looked like a dark skinned man, possibly a black male, was driving. It is not known if she got in voluntarily. The red car then turned around to go back towards 14th street. And Tabitha Tuders has not been seen since.

The only other major clue seemed to be a piece of paper Tabitha left in her room that said "TDT N MTL". TDT stands for Tabitha Danielle Tuders. No one knows what the other initials stand for. I thought that was kind of unique, a 13 year old girl using middle initials. Police believe the initials could stand for a boy she may have had a crush on.

The case was compounded by the fact that it was not known that Tabitha had even disappeared for almost 8 or 9 hours. Both parents had thought she had gotten on the bus and made it to school. It was only when she did not return home at around 4 pm that they realized something was wrong. Then they called police shortly afterwards.

It is hard to even come up with any sort of geographic idea about where this red car was going since it turned around on Boscobel ostensibly to continue either south or north on 14th street. 14th street looks to be the quickest north-south way through the neighborhood where Tabitha lived. My only opinion is that the kidnapper either lives or works south or north along the corridor of 14th street.

This case is a textbook example of how difficult it can be to solve a missing person's case when circumstances that are no one person's fault make it difficult to find a place to start. Even though there are some "eyewitness statements" from that morning, police cannot even say if Tabitha Tuders made it to the corner of 14th and Boscobel with any certainty. They think she did.

 

[somequestions]

I got a chance to go through the entire thread as quickly as I could.

The school Tabitha Tuders attended, Bailey Middle School, looked to be located north and west of where she lived at the corner of Greenwood and Gellatin Avenue in Nashville, TN. I do not know if I am correct about this. I looked it up to get an idea about how she would have walked to school in case she missed the bus. So if the witnesses are correct she definitely was walking to catch the school bus since her initial bus stop at 14th and Boscobel is south and east of where she lived.

I can only think of a few things to add that are very generalized in nature. First, the young witness who saw the red car turn around after taking Tabitha Tuders said he saw the car turn around and leave. Did the car turn around all at once without stopping to back up? This could indicate a car with a small turning radius like a smaller vehicle.

Second, in terms of the streets in the area, it looks like the only reason someone would take South 14th street is to cut around traffic instead of taking the main road running parellel which has more businesses along it. But taking 14th street past Shelby Ave going south would not be beneficial because you would end up in a more residential area. There looks to be a Shell gas station at the corner of 10th and Shelby. In my opinion, unless Tabitha Tuders was taken by someone she knew, I would think the kidnapper would continue driving down 14th street as a route to wherever he was going, even after the crime. It seems like a route you would have to become familiar with by traveling through the east Nashville area.

This is your typical abduction with very little to no eyewitnesses case. No cell phone or actual location data to help track the victim because it occurred in 2003. There are only eyewitness statements to consider which are usually fraught with errors. And any thoughts about the case have to take into account an important consideration: A lot has probably changed in 17 years.

Hopefully someday this case gets solved.

 

[Dylansmom08]

I really feel like she had to have gotten in the vehicle with someone she knew or at least someone she had talked to before and thought was safe. I don't see a 13 year old girl just hopping in the car with a random stranger, especially a man. Also, I'm thinking if she were forced into the vehicle the kids at the bus stop and neighbors would have noticed as I would imagine she would not go willingly. It's sad that the schools systems did not have the automated phone system that notifies parents if their child is absent from school. Maybe if the school had notified someone or if police had issued an amber alert right away she would have had better chances of being found by now. This whole case is just heartbreaking I really hope something comes out that will lead the family and investigators to her.

 

[MelInTN]

Search underway in Hickman County for evidence in Tabitha Tuders’ disappearance | WKRN News 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro police are in Hickman County searching for evidence in the disappearance of Tabitha Tuders, the department confirmed to News 2 Wednesday morning.

No additional details were immediately released about the active search, not far from the Dickson County line..." More at link.

Glad to see movement in the case.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Search underway in Hickman County for evidence in Tabitha Tuders’ disappearance | WKRN News 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro police are in Hickman County searching for evidence in the disappearance of Tabitha Tuders, the department confirmed to News 2 Wednesday morning.

No additional details were immediately released about the active search, not far from the Dickson County line..." More at link.

Glad to see movement in the case.

Thank you for the update I am so happy to see movement in her case after all this time I hope they find something that will lead to her location. Her family has been waiting for so long to find out what happened to their little girl. Keeping my fingers crossed and prayers up for answers.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Just thought I would provide a map so we can see how far the search area is from where she was last seen.

 

[PixieStix]

I have been following this case since it happened. I am very happy to see some promising movement as to what happened to poor Tabitha.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Metro detectives searching Hickman County for evidence in Tabitha Tuders case

Watching this live footage from a local news station and looks like they might have found something they have the blue tarps up and have moved news crews back away from the area. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point.

 

[southern_scout]

Man, I know exactly where this area is, my cousin lives in Bon Aqua. To take someone from East Nashville out there you'd kind of need to know the area or where you were going. This seems super specific, and I hope it produces evidence that helps find Tabitha.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Man, I know exactly where this area is, my cousin lives in Bon Aqua. To take someone from East Nashville out there you'd kind of need to know the area or where you were going. This seems super specific, and I hope it produces evidence that helps find Tabitha.

That's what I was thinking it doesn't seem like the kind of area a person would just stumble upon. If she is out there I would think that whoever put her out there is either from the area or knows people in the area. I believe if I read correctly they do have a suspect in mind.

 

[Dylansmom08]

This is a news update video of what led them to the area they are searching now.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Search for evidence in Tabitha Tuders case ends after two days

Doesn't look like they found anything out there and we're back to not knowing what happened to Tabitha. My prayers go out to her family I can only imagine their disappointment as they are once again told LE has nothing.

 

[somequestions]

Search for evidence in Tabitha Tuders case ends after two days

Doesn't look like they found anything out there and we're back to not knowing what happened to Tabitha. My prayers go out to her family I can only imagine their disappointment as they are once again told LE has nothing.

This type of case could happen any day. I looked at the map of where her parents live versus where her bus stop was at Boscobel and 14th. The reason her mother told her not to leave until at least 10 minutes before the bus was to arrive is because it is a short walk from her home. It sounds like her mother was trying to minimize Tabitha staying out in the open too long for someone to see her. So then she tells her if the bus takes too long to walk down to the next street corner where there are more kids waiting for the bus.

If somehow it was not a person in a car who abducted Tabitha Tuders, then I think you have to look at residences that would have noticed her walking towards the next bus stop with more kids waiting. I do not know how you go about that though.

In cases where it seems like there is no evidence, how do you investigate the case if there seems to be no place to go with it? Hope this case gets some sort of closure someday.