Trudy Appleby: The 1996 Moline Disappearance

In August of 1996, 11-year-old Trudy Appleby vanished from her neighborhood in Moline, Illinois, leaving behind one of the most haunting mysteries in the Quad Cities. There was no sign of a struggle, no clear witnesses, and no immediate answers. For nearly three decades, her case remained unsolved. But behind the headlines, Trudy’s father never stopped fighting. From the very beginning, he insisted he knew who was responsible. While police chased false leads and dead ends, he pointed to the same small circle of men—names he repeated year after year, long before investigators finally confirmed them as persons of interest. In August 2025, almost exactly 29 years after Trudy disappeared, an arrest was finally made. The breakthrough came too late for her father, who passed away without seeing justice—but it proved he had been right all along. This is the story of Trudy Appleby: a child gone without a trace, a family’s relentless search for truth, and the decades-long fight to hold those responsible accountable in the Quad Cities’ most infamous missing child case. Please contact the Moline Police Department (Illinois) - Missing Persons Unit - 1-309-797-0407 OR your local FBI if you have any information. Trudy’s Missing Poster: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/822441/1 This episode is made possible by show subscribers and sponsors, thank you! Patreon.com/crimesaladpodcast crimesaladpodcast.com Mint Mobile: Ready to say yes to saying no? Make the switch at mintmobile.com/CRIMESALAD Keywords: Trudy Appleby, Moline Illinois, Quad Cities missing child, East Moline, Illinois cold case, Dennis Appleby, David Whipple, James “Jim” Messick, Jamie Fisher, Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office, Moline Police Department, FBI Quad Cities, unsolved disappearance, True Crime Podcast, where is trudy appleby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices