This is the information I have concerning Trudy Appleby. Has there been an update since Audust
1997???

Trudy Appleby (11 years old); Moline, IL Abducted: 8/21/1996

Date of Birth: Sept. 4, 1984
Age (at disappearance): 11 years
Height: 4' 8"
Weight: 75 lbs
Build: Average
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Race: Caucasian
Missing from: Moline, IL
Date Missing: Aug. 21, 1996

Notes/Comments: Trudy was last seen with an adult male, approximately 20 years old, with curly
brown hair. He
was driving a silver car. Foul play is suspected.

August, 1997:

THE YEAR IN PERSPECTIVE

The search

There has been no shortage of leads in the abduction of Trudy Appleby, but police, like her family,
still are waiting for the one that will end the mystery. Since the girl disappeared a year ago Thursday
from outside her Moline home, city police, the FBI and other agencies have heightened the
investigation to a national level. Her family has appeared on nationally televised shows such as
"Leeza", "Geraldo" and "America's Most Wanted." Family, friends, letter carriers and strangers have
seen to it that her picture has been placed on posters, billboards and the Internet. And Moline police,
who have run down leads and worked thousands of man-hours, have utilized missing children
agencies and unique technological advancements, but still lack the big break the investigation needs.
"We took advantage of a service of the FBI, a new child abduction/serial killer unit," Sgt. George
Miklas said.

The TRACK unit helped complete a major case review, studying every report that had been generated
in the course of the investigation."They approached it from an overview, where sometimes we
become more focused on individual leads and not the big picture," he said.

With the assistance of a computer software program that Moline Police Department purchased after
her abduction, investigators were able to track the progress of the case and tabulate their efforts
into statistics.

Here's a look at some of the staggering numbers:

Vehicles - Police checked 378 gray vehicles because Trudy was last seen sitting in a gray four-door
sedan with an unidentified man. Overall, they investigated 1,220 leads involving vehicles.

Leads - Authorities have received a total of 602 leads from 37 different states.

Interviews - Police have interviewed 1,344 people.

Psychics - Police have been in contact with 15 different psychics, some of whom contacted them.

Web sites - Trudy's case is featured on five different web sites on the Internet, including those of
the City of Moline, the Illinois State Police, "America's Most Wanted," the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, and the Vanished Children's Alliance.

Missing persons agencies - Nine agencies have provided assistance during the year long investigation.
Among the agencies and the number of direct leads they have offered are: National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, 130; "America's Most Wanted," 15; Child Quest, one; Vanished
Children's Alliance, four; Missing Children Help Center, one.

Public Vigil

Trudy Appleby's family will mark the one-year anniversary of her disappearance with a vigil at 7 p.m.
Thursday at First Baptist Church, East Moline.

The public is invited to join her family and friends in a balloon release from the church at 4021 9˝
Street.

"The 200 balloons will each have a note so people can say what they want to Trudy," said her
mother, Brenda Eddleman, who is helping organize the vigil. She said her message to Trudy would be:
"I know that you'll come home someday and you're in the Lord's hands."

Can you help?

Anyone with information about Trudy's disappearance is asked to call Moline police at

(309) 797-0401.

Reprinted with permission from The Quad-City Times, as published in Section M on Sunday, August
17, 1997