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

[chaddylex]

I have been following Tabitha's case and watched her Disappeared episode a few months back. I feel so sad for her family.
Here is another article from the search that was done in August. ONLY ON 2: Tabitha Tuders’ family devastated to be left in the dark on daughter’s search | WKRN News 2

“We haven’t heard from nobody, or anything except for News 2 and that’s it,” said Tuders.

The family watched the developments unfold on TV as investigators dug up what once was a pig pen on a property in Bon Aqua.

“I’ve thought about that all night, all night. If she was there, everybody knows what pigs and hogs do. You know if she was there, she wouldn’t be there now,” she cried.

For 17 years, the family has dreamed of living their life again with their daughter, who was last seen walking to the bus stop in 2003 not far from her East Nashville home.

he search this week included a seven-acre wooded property that once belonged to Albert Franklin Jr. He is the number one person of interest in Tabitha’s disappearance, according to detectives. They say Franklin also owned a trailer park a few miles from the Tuder’s home that was known for its vice activity.

“We knew from 2003 that he did own that trailer park, and they had a lot of tips with boo being there but nothing ever come of it,” the family explained.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Detective: Tabitha Tuders may have been abducted, drugged and forced into prostitution
Franklin is currently serving a 37-year sentence for federal firearm and drug charges from 2010.

“They just keep on saying he’s a person of interest,” and that’s all the family said they know about Franklin.

Detective Jolley who has been working the case over the last seven years said due to the sensitivity of the tip, they tried to keep the search confidential. However, it got ahead of them before he was able to speak with the Tuders. He said he understands their concerns and has since spoken to the family.

 

[somequestions]

I wrote up a little summary of the case with major questions:

According to eyewitness statements the way the abduction went down is a little strange. Tabitha Tuders, aged 13, had a short walk to her bus stop at Boscobel and 14th Street in East Nashville, TN. I think her parents lived on Lillian towards 14th street side. It was April 29, 2003, a Tuesday. She was told by her mother if she had to wait too long for the bus at the corner of 14th and Boscobel to walk down Boscobel to 15th street. She followed her mother's instructions that morning according to eyewitnesses.

The abductor must not have been ready to kidnap her that morning since according to witnesses she had already started walking down Boscobel towards 15th street where there would be other kids waiting. She got about halfway down Boscobel when a car pulled up alongside her, red or green, and took her. Also, the car must have approached from behind her. Eyewitness statement says after Tabitha Tuders got into the car it then made a U-turn to go back towards 14th street. If the abductor had waited any longer he would have been even closer to the group of kids waiting to get on the bus at 15th street. To my recollection it was one of these kids that ending up being the eyewitness who saw her get into a red car. They observed Tabitha Tuders walking towards them that morning halfway between 14th and 15th streets.

Whether she got into the car voluntarily or not is another question. If she did get in voluntarily, maybe it was a teacher's assistant or some other school figure offering her a ride to school? But that does not make a lot of sense since she has a bus to take her.

So then it must have been a stranger. But that is a little odd because of the kids at the corner of 15th street. So maybe the abductor could see the group of kids waiting at 15th street and immediately turned the car around for that reason?

When I mapped it out I tried looking at it from the perspective of the abductor and the perspective of the eyewitness at 15th street. There is no stop sign at the corner of Boscobel and 14th, Tabitha Tuder's first bus stop location. If anyone had seen her they would have been driving at speed on by. So if anyone did see her and just decided to kidnap her that day they probably had either seen her there before or as she was crossing the road in front of them that day. But then how in the heck did she get halfway down Boscobel before the abductor's car pulled up alongside?!

The walk between 14th and 15th seems longer than the initial walk from her house to Boscobel and 14th. Maybe it is just the way it looks on google maps that makes it appear longer. How long does it take to walk between 14th and 15th streets on Boscobel? I wondered what would happen if she did not make it to 15th in time. Does the bus stop first at Boscobel and 15th and then travel towards Boscobel and 14th? Or is it the other way around? I do not know bus routes or what school she went to.

My opinion is that this abductor either lives on Boscobel or 14th street in that area or travels Boscobel or 14th street regularly enough to know Tabitha Tuders would be walking to her bus stop or 2nd bus stop at 15th at around 8 am without actually being able to see her since according to the timing, the car did not pull up alongside her until halfway between 14th and 15th on Boscobel.

I would not want to be a detective on this case because cases like this are the toughest to solve.

 

[somequestions]

FYI: 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. The school was located at the corner of Greenwood and Gellatin Avenue. The bus usually arrived around 8:05 am.

I had this information in a previous post, but do not remember where I got the info. So I cannot be sure it is correct.

 

[somequestions]

I do not know if this has already been mentioned, but one clue in this case is that there was a piece of paper in Tabitha Tuder's room that said, "T.D.T n M.T.L.". TDT people think are probably Tabitha's initials. As for MTL there have been people that fit the initials, but have been ruled out.

There is an MT & L card company in Nashville. I know that does make sense that a 13 year old would know about this business, but I thought I would put it out there.

 

[dotr]

Sept 19 2020 rbbm.
CRIME HUNTER: Fresh lead in case of missing Tennessee girl, 13 | Toronto Sun

Tabitha Tuders, 13, vanished 17 years ago.

''On April 29, 2003, she left her Nashville home around 7:30 a.m. to catch the school bus. The 13-year-old never boarded the bus and never showed up at school.

At the time of her disappearance, detectives exhausted every lead to determine her fate and catch the person responsible. This week, cold case detectives were back at it along with FBI agents, searching a rural property following a new tip.
Sgt. Charles Rutzky said the search was based on “old and new information.”

How she got to the property, if her remains are there, is another question. But Rutzky said investigators will search for “as long as it takes”.

“This has been a case that has spanned the whole country,” he told reporters. “We’ve looked long and far, and we’ll continue to look wherever it takes us.”

On Wednesday, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a statement on behalf of Tuders’ family.

“Every day, we pray for answers in Tabitha’s case. Today is no different,” the statement read.

“We appreciate the work law enforcement agencies are doing to try to find her after 17 long years. As we wait patiently to learn more, we ask that you give our family privacy at this time. We have never given up hope that we will find Tabitha.”

 

[somequestions]

Sept 19 2020 rbbm.
CRIME HUNTER: Fresh lead in case of missing Tennessee girl, 13 | Toronto Sun

Tabitha Tuders, 13, vanished 17 years ago.

''On April 29, 2003, she left her Nashville home around 7:30 a.m. to catch the school bus. The 13-year-old never boarded the bus and never showed up at school.

At the time of her disappearance, detectives exhausted every lead to determine her fate and catch the person responsible. This week, cold case detectives were back at it along with FBI agents, searching a rural property following a new tip.
Sgt. Charles Rutzky said the search was based on “old and new information.”

How she got to the property, if her remains are there, is another question. But Rutzky said investigators will search for “as long as it takes”.

“This has been a case that has spanned the whole country,” he told reporters. “We’ve looked long and far, and we’ll continue to look wherever it takes us.”

On Wednesday, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a statement on behalf of Tuders’ family.

“Every day, we pray for answers in Tabitha’s case. Today is no different,” the statement read.

“We appreciate the work law enforcement agencies are doing to try to find her after 17 long years. As we wait patiently to learn more, we ask that you give our family privacy at this time. We have never given up hope that we will find Tabitha.”

There are a few things that stand out in this case. They are things to take into consideration:

1. Tabitha Tuders did not take her door key for the house that morning. The family does not think that this is strange though because her mother was always usually home by 1:30 and Tabitha came back at 4 pm.

2. The school boy eyewitness who was looking back towards 14th street from the bus stop at 15th and Boscobel said he saw Tabitha get into a red car. Maybe this just has to do with being there and standing there, but it seems difficult to make a positive id from the distance to where Tabitha is said to have gotten into the car. But that could be because it looks different in person than google maps.

3. This is probably the most important and strangest part of the abduction. If we go with what the eyewitness said that Tabitha got into a red car halfway down Boscobel between 14th and 15th streets, then where was the kidnapper during this time? It is interesting to note that a dog track confirmed this eyewitness scenario. But why did the kidnapper not try and approach her at the first bus stop at 14th and Boscobel? I wonder how long it takes to walk from 14th and Boscobel to the point on the street where the eyewitness said she got into the red car? On google maps I did not see a stop sign at the corner of 14th and Boscobel and if Tabitha was watching for cars as she crossed the streets I think she would have waited for a car to pass by before crossing to walk down to 15th and Boscobel.

The first stop sign coming from the north down 14th is Fatherland Street.
The first stop sign coming from the south is Shelby Avenue.

The reason for the stop signs is to see if a car would be at speed if she walked across the street and this person saw her. So it would be a bit surprising if this is a stranger abduction where the individual saw her for the first time on the day of the abduction. I am not saying that is not what it is only that there remains the possibility that whoever it was saw her many times before they actually decided to kidnap her.

If we could go back 17 years this would have been a great case to set up a hidden video camera at the 14th and Boscobel to see what cars go by consistently at around 8 am each day. But with the door key still being left at home, wouldn't there have to at least remain the possibility that she never made it out of the house? I do not want this to imply that the parents have any involvement only that it is important to be thorough. Maybe someone came to the door that day when the parents left for work? I do not think the parents had anything to do with it.

So that is why missing person's cases are so hard to solve. Often time there is no place to start, and in this case investigators could not start until 8 or 9 hours after she disappeared. And then there is the 17 years too.

 

[somequestions]

When you try and think about how this case played out in a real time scenario it does not make a lot of sense.

Once Tabitha Tuders crossed over 14th street to begin walking down Boscobel towards 15th street, she would have been out of eyesight of any passing car on 14th who most likely would be traveling at speed since there is no stop sign at 14th and Boscobel. So I can understand why detectives think whoever it was must have known how and when she walked to her bus in the morning.

So maybe the abductor planned to wait until Tabitha was off the main road(14th street) so once she was walking down Boscobel there would be less witnesses? The abduction is said to have happened around the 3rd or 4th house on Boscobel going towards 15th street. But then again, any house at any time could have someone come outside. People come outside to go to work, get the mail, the newspaper, any number of things. It is kind of amazing none of the houses Tabitha walked in front on Boscobel heading towards 15th had any sort of information to provide the police(that I have read about anyway).

So why the abductor waited until after Tabitha had started to walk down Boscobel towards 15th street is anyone's guess. Unfortunately that is all this case is left with, what we think happened.

 

[Joyalice]

I have always wondered why she slept at the bottom of her Mothers bed ? Strange to say the least what was the reason, I know they said she wanted to be by her Mom ? but I find it strange she did not want to go into her own room which looked really cosy on documentary ? Has anyone got thoughts on this ?

 

[somequestions]

I have always wondered why she slept at the bottom of her Mothers bed ? Strange to say the least what was the reason, I know they said she wanted to be by her Mom ? but I find it strange she did not want to go into her own room which looked really cosy on documentary ? Has anyone got thoughts on this ?

I do not think you can read too much into it. I think she just really loved being around her mother. As for her room it is hard to say how big it was. I think the Disappeared program was just a re-creation, but I do not know. I think that episode was only filmed within the last 2 years in 2018. If you look up their house on google maps it looks like a rather small quaint family home, but that is only my opinion.

Since we do not know if Tabita Tuders willingly got into the car or was forced inside, I thought maybe her caring about her mother might have some relevance. For example, if the car pulled up alongside Tabitha and this person told her that something had happened to her mother and they were rushing her to the hospital, maybe Tabitha would have got into the car thinking she was being taken to the hospital?

Then again, it could have been any sort of ruse that caused her to get in the car or maybe Tabitha was threatened with a weapon to get into the car? I don't know. We can only guess.

 

[Dnp2be]

I have always wondered why she slept at the bottom of her Mothers bed ? Strange to say the least what was the reason, I know they said she wanted to be by her Mom ? but I find it strange she did not want to go into her own room which looked really cosy on documentary ? Has anyone got thoughts on this ?

I had a male cousin who did this pretty frequently until he was 15 I believe. He actually slept on floor in his parents room. Mostly it was because he was scared of thunderstorms. But I think also just the comfort of having mom close by.

My daughter would gladly sleep next to me or her dad every night. She’s 10 years old. I attribute this to a couple things: 1) nursing her until she was a year old. 2) falling asleep with her all the time 3) when her dad and I separated we both had her sleep with us as she was about 3 at the time. 4) she’s just always been a real cuddly kid-still loves to cuddle up next to me.

I was never like this. I can’t remember ever trying to sleep in my parents room and I’m pretty sure I would have been sent straight back to my room. But I don’t find it as strange as I once did.

 

[Joyalice]

Thank you for your replies I also think probably there was nothing in it, but sometimes strange things happen and you have to take the word of the people involved, I must say she would not have got in a car with someone she did not know, also did anyone really see the red car which later became green. We will never know, bless her

 

[somequestions]

Even though Tabitha Tuders was not reported missing for 9 or 10 hours and could have been far away, the case does not feel like it is a stranger who took her far away from the area.

I think if they ever find who abducted Tabitha Tuders it will probably be someone who lives within a mile radius of her home. Either this person saw her every day sitting at the corner of 14th and Boscobel or they were very familiar with how she walked to the school bus stops.

How do you solve a case where this much time has gone by? I cannot think of anything to do today other than wait for the right tip to come in about the right person. Sometimes abductors will leave the area too. Maybe looking up the people that have moved out of the immediate area might produce a name? But that is just a guess if it was not a stranger, but someone local to where she lived.

 

[Joyalice]

Even though Tabitha Tuders was not reported missing for 9 or 10 hours and could have been far away, the case does not feel like it is a stranger who took her far away from the area.

I think if they ever find who abducted Tabitha Tuders it will probably be someone who lives within a mile radius of her home. Either this person saw her every day sitting at the corner of 14th and Boscobel or they were very familiar with how she walked to the school bus stops.

How do you solve a case where this much time has gone by? I cannot think of anything to do today other than wait for the right tip to come in about the right person. Sometimes abductors will leave the area too. Maybe looking up the people that have moved out of the immediate area might produce a name? But that is just a guess if it was not a stranger, but someone local to where she lived.

I also feel it was not a stranger abduction, I think it was someone she knew, we don't actually know she left for the school bus, was her elder sister living in the same home at that time, it was a bit confusing but I think maybe she was but perhaps not at home. She had two elder sisters I believe but only one seemed to get involved in the media. Will they ever get an answer I wonder.

 

[Dnp2be]

I too feel it was someone close but I also think the person has since moved. Not for a while after though. I get the feeling this is the type of case where the perp has gained a false sense of security since he didn’t get caught. But he will slip, it’s just placing the pieces together when he does. JMO

 

[somequestions]

I too feel it was someone close but I also think the person has since moved. Not for a while after though. I get the feeling this is the type of case where the perp has gained a false sense of security since he didn’t get caught. But he will slip, it’s just placing the pieces together when he does. JMO

I thought of an interesting scenario regarding this case that was maybe thought of back in 2003.

We know that there is not a stop sign at the intersection of 14th and Boscobel, Tabitha Tuder's first bus stop before she crossed 14th to walk down Boscobel to 15th street. What if a car was parked alongside 14th as she walked past that morning and watched her? Maybe they saw a witness also watching Tabitha or they waited till she decided to walk down Boscobel since that is off 14th street. 14th street looks to be a more traveled street in the neighborhood. Once the car notices that she has crossed the street to walk down Boscobel, it pulls out and makes the turn down Boscobel to approach Tabitha.

This scenario would suggest the killer may have been very close to where she lived if we assume that most cars parked next to residences usually belong to the people inside of the residence. With the limited amount of houses Tabitha Tuders walked past on the way to her bus stop at 14th and Boscobel, I am guessing this was already thought of. Any abductor probably would have gotten rid of the car right away and registered a different vehicle. I wonder if police look for things like this if the think the victim was abducted in a car and the police think the car was aware of the victim's movements.

Anyhow 17 years is a long time for any vehicle so this theory was probably best thought of back in 2003.

 

[Joyalice]

I thought of an interesting scenario regarding this case that was maybe thought of back in 2003.

We know that there is not a stop sign at the intersection of 14th and Boscobel, Tabitha Tuder's first bus stop before she crossed 14th to walk down Boscobel to 15th street. What if a car was parked alongside 14th as she walked past that morning and watched her? Maybe they saw a witness also watching Tabitha or they waited till she decided to walk down Boscobel since that is off 14th street. 14th street looks to be a more traveled street in the neighborhood. Once the car notices that she has crossed the street to walk down Boscobel, it pulls out and makes the turn down Boscobel to approach Tabitha.

This scenario would suggest the killer may have been very close to where she lived if we assume that most cars parked next to residences usually belong to the people inside of the residence. With the limited amount of houses Tabitha Tuders walked past on the way to her bus stop at 14th and Boscobel, I am guessing this was already thought of. Any abductor probably would have gotten rid of the car right away and registered a different vehicle. I wonder if police look for things like this if the think the victim was abducted in a car and the police think the car was aware of the victim's movements.

Anyhow 17 years is a long time for any vehicle so this theory was probably best thought of back in 2003.

It is a good theory though, I agree with you

 

[somequestions]

If the abductor was aware of the other children at the corner of 15th and Boscobel, it probably would also be smart to look at any residence on both sides of Boscobel up to 15th street even after the point where she was abducted according to the dog scent. While it would be elaborate to do, someone could have picked Tabitha Tuders up in front of the kids waiting at the bus stop at 15th and Boscobel, drove around until they thought the bus was gone with those kids, and then drove back to their residence on Boscobel giving the impression she was picked up in a car when the abductor actually lived right there along those houses.

With the limited amount of residences Tabitha Tuders would have passed on her way to the first bus stop at 14th and Boscobel and the second bus stop at 15th and Boscobel, it does not seem like it would be too hard to check out. I wonder if police casually knocked on all those doors to ask what people living in those residences may have witnessed the morning of April 29, 2003? I am guessing they did, and that my idea is over 17 years behind, but you never know.

Even though there is no proof that it was not a stranger abduction likes it appears to be, I would want to check out that theory. Sometimes cases do not get solved. Unfortunately that is real life. What I think though, is that if you are going to lose, do not let it be because of something you did not do.

 

[somequestions]

I had never heard of the Tabitha Tuders missing person's case before. I wonder if it was a popular case back in 2003? Obviously they did a Disappeared episode about it a few years ago.

In old cases like this that only have one thread, I like to go back and read what people wrote at the beginning. It seems sad to me how as time passes, the discussion seems to slow down to almost nothing.

There were some interesting theories at the beginning about possible human sex trafficking or Tabitha knowing someone from a card they found in her room. There was also some witness information in a news story about how some kids thought she actually did get on the school bus that day. After all this time, none of the information must have helped solve the case.

About the only thing that seems to remind people that a case is not solved is time. And life goes on, and people move on.

 

[Joyalice]

I had never heard of the Tabitha Tuders missing person's case before. I wonder if it was a popular case back in 2003? Obviously they did a Disappeared episode about it a few years ago.

In old cases like this that only have one thread, I like to go back and read what people wrote at the beginning. It seems sad to me how as time passes, the discussion seems to slow down to almost nothing.

There were some interesting theories at the beginning about possible human sex trafficking or Tabitha knowing someone from a card they found in her room. There was also some witness information in a news story about how some kids thought she actually did get on the school bus that day. After all this time, none of the information must have helped solve the case.

About the only thing that seems to remind people that a case is not solved is time. And life goes on, and people move on.

So sad isn't it forgotten about really.

 

[somequestions]

So sad isn't it forgotten about really.

I think missing persons cases might be even sadder sometimes than murder cases. At least in a murder case, as long as you have a body and crime scene, you have a place to start the investigation. So many missing persons cases feel stalled out after a while because it feels like there is nothing left to do or investigate.

I do not remember ever having heard about the Tabitha Tuder's missing persons case before seeing the case on the show Disappeared. It happened on April 29, 2003. Even with all the time that has passed though, I still see Tabitha Tuders walking towards the bus stop at 15th and Boscobel.