EAST MOLINE, Ill. — The Quad Cities community is once again praying for answers over the disappearance of Trudy Appleby. She was 11 years old at the time of her disappearance in 1996.
Twenty-seven years since she vanished her family and the Quad Cities community gathered at the First Baptist Church in East Moline for a candlelight vigil.
Trudy's father, Dennis Appleby fought tears as he talked about his daughter. "The one thing we don't know is where she's at," he said. "That's what all of this is about."
Dennis said the family agrees that Trudy has passed away, but they still want closure by having a chance to give her a burial.
Trudy's aunt, Anita Parkinson, spoke in Trudy's voice. "My family, my friends have looked everywhere for me, and now it's 27 years and I'm still not home," she said. "I want to come home so bad."
The family made several appeals, asking anyone who knows what happened to come forward with answers — answers that not everyone got a chance to learn.
"Not only did my mother die without knowing what happened to me, but so did my grandparents," Anita said in Trudy's voice. "All of them died with a hole in their heart."
Trudy was last seen leaving her home in Moline on Aug. 21, 1996. She was reportedly last seen around 9:30 a.m. that day with a white male in his 20s, in a gray box-style car similar to a Chevrolet Cavalier.
She was wearing a black, one-piece swimsuit, spandex shorts, blue tennis shoes, socks, and a t-shirt. She also had a beach towel with her.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500 or the Moline Police Department at 309-797-0401.