On the morning of August 21, 1996, Dennis Appleby left his Moline, Illinois home to head to work, leaving behind his 11 year old daughter, Trudy, to spend the summer day at home. Around 9:30am, a neighbor saw Trudy with a man who appeared to be in his 20’s, with dark curly hair, wearing a baseball cap. The unidentified man was driving a silver or gray four door sedan. Dennis came home from work that evening and was surprised to find his daughter wasn’t home. He called his neighbors and some of Trudy’s friends but she wasn’t with any of them. That is when Dennis called the police to report Trudy missing. Trudy’s case went unsolved for more than 20 years but now, investigators believe they know who is responsible for Trudy’s disappearance.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Trudy Appleby, please call the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140.

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In June of 1991, 20-year-old Jason Dies returned from Operation Desert Storm when the USS Horne docked in San Diego, California.  He was now on leave and had a month to report to a new duty station in Pensacola, Florida.  Jason never showed up and was classified as an unauthorized absentee and later a deserter.  Before Jason disappeared, he mailed some packages to his family back in Louisiana.  He phoned them and asked them not to open the packages.  The mystery of what was in the packages and what happened to Jason loomed over his family for years.  What had he sent them?  Military secrets?  Was there some kind of conspiracy?  When Jason’s younger cousin grew up, she embarked on a journey to find him.  She opened the packages and started pressing for answers.  

If you have any information about the disappearance of Jason Dies, please call NCIS at 850-452-4211.  You can submit a tip online at https://www.ncis.navy.mil.

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22-year-old Cole Thomas had taken a break from college to work a construction job and earn some money. During the fall of 2016, he traveled from his home in Florida to work on a job in Minnesota. Right before Thanksgiving, a couple of co-workers that he had recently met asked Cole to drive them to North Carolina, presumably to spend the holiday with their families. Cole agreed to drive them but what he didn’t realize was that the people he thought were his friends, weren’t friends at all and that he was headed straight into danger that would cost him his life.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Cole Thomas, you are asked to call the Benson, North Carolina Police Department at 919-894-2091.

You can follow Cole's story on Facebook at Find Cole Thomas.

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On July 1, 1995, 24-year-old Erin Gilbert traveled to a nearby fair in Girdwood, Alaska with a man she had recently met. Witnesses spotted Erin at the fair that day. According to her date, they had car trouble when they went to leave. He claims that he left Erin at the car and proceeded to walk around looking for a friend's house for two hours. He was unable to find his friend's house and returned to the fair but Erin was gone. He said he searched the fairgrounds and after no sign of Erin, called her sister, who also hadn’t seen her. That was 25 years ago, and to this day, no trace of Erin has ever been found.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Erin Gilbert, you are asked to call the Alaska State Troopers at 907-428-7200.

You can follow Erin's story on Facebook at: Finding Erin Marie Gilbert.

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On July 20, 2017, 30-year-old Benjamin Redfearn left his home in Farmington, New Mexico to attend his daughter’s 6th birthday party. Ben and his daughter’s mother were no longer together but they were committed to co-parenting their child together and Ben was known to be a loving father. By this time, Ben was in another relationship and his current girlfriend was unhappy about him attending the party. On the way to the party, an argument ensued and his girlfriend stopped the car and let Ben out far from the party. Ben ended up walking the rest of the way and was three hours late. Everyone at the party noticed that Ben seemed upset and had a black eye. Ben’s dad gave him a ride home after the party ended. In the car, his dad pleaded with Ben to come back to California with him, he feared for his son’s safety. Ben declined the offer but stated that he didn’t want to go back into the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. Ben got out of the car and that was the last time his dad saw him. It was after this time that Ben dropped off radar. Months later, there was a sighting of Ben but it is unclear what happened to him and his family is desperate for answers.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Benjamin Redfearn, please contact Detective Chavez with the Farmington Police Department at 505-566-2370. You can also call their tip line at 505-599-1068. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call the San Juan County Crimestoppers at 505-334-8477.

June 5, 2020 UPDATE: Today we learned that some of Ben’s friends listened to the podcast last week and felt compelled to contact law enforcement to disclose his location in another state. Detective Chavez asked local law enforcement in that location to reach out to Ben and they confirmed that Ben is alive. At this point, Ben has not spoken to his family. That is all the information we have at this time. Thank you all for listening and sharing!

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In the early morning hours of September 15, 2019, then-14-year-old Alicia Navarro gathered her laptop and her phone, wrote out a short note for her mom, and headed for the backyard of her family home. Once there, she stacked some chairs and climbed over the first wall around her home, then stacked a pile of leftover bricks to climb the outer wall. Alicia made it over the barriers designed to protect her family’s home and vanished into the darkness that morning. She has not been seen since.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Alicia Navarro, you are urged to call the Glendale Police Department at 623-930-3000. You may also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

You can follow Alicia's case on Facebook at: Finding Alicia.

UPDATE: In July 2023, Alicia Navarro was found safe in Montana.

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On February 5, 2019, 33-year-old Rebecca Modrall drove to one of the houses her boyfriend, Joe Coker, owned in La Quinta, California. Joe had called her and asked her to come over so he could cook her dinner. Rebecca was seen on camera entering the gated community where Joe lived. That was the last sighting of Rebecca Modrall. Rebecca had plans to meet up with a friend after visiting Joe, but she never made it. Her friend sent her numerous text messages and called her phone, but the messages went unread and the calls unreturned. Rebecca's family believes they know what happened to her but they wonder if money and political influence have gotten in the way of solving her case.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Rebecca Modrall, you are asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office at 951-955-2450.

You can follow Rebecca's case on Facebook at Justice For Rebecca Modrall or at http://justice4rebecca.org.

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On May 25, 2003, 18-month-old Acacia Bishop was kidnapped from her great-grandmother's home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Acacia’s grandmother took the toddler and ran while Acacia’s great-grandmother left the room to put her vacuum away. This was not the first time that Acacia was taken by her grandmother. This time, she took Acacia to Idaho where they spent the night in a motel. The following day, the pair was spotted by witnesses playing by the Snake River. That was the last known sighting of Acacia Bishop. Authorities believe that Acacia drowned in a botched murder/suicide attempt that day, while some of her family believes it was an elaborate ruse and that Acacia was given to another family to raise.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Acacia Bishop, please call Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office at 801-743-7000.

You can follow Acacia’s case on social media at Acacia Bishop Missing Child.

For more information on psychologist, Dr. Taft, please visit his website or Facebook page.

This episode was co-researched and written by Marissa Jones and Erika Gwynn. To find more of Erika's work, please check out her podcast at https://www.apexandabyss.com.

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On November 17, 2019, 26-year-old Marshal Iwaasa visited his mother in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. He helped her with some tech problems and then left late in the evening, despite his mother’s pleas for him to stay the night. He told her that he was headed back to Calgary, where he had been renting a room from a local family and attending school. However, Marshal didn’t go back to Calgary that night, and has not been seen or heard from since. A week later, Marshal's truck was found about 13 hours from where he was last seen. The truck was in a very remote area and completely burnt out.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Marshal Iwaasa, please call the Lethbridge Police Department at 403-328-4444. You may also call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Additionally, you may leave a tip at p3tips.com

You can follow Marshal's case on social media at FIND MARSHAL IWAASA.

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On December 5, 1989, 31-year-old Kerry O’Brien Krueger allegedly told her husband that she had to catch a last-minute flight to Wyoming to attend a trade show for work after another coworker asked her to attend in their place. The plan was that she and a co-worker would travel from Burlington, Wisconsin to Chicago where they would take a flight to Wyoming. Kerry’s husband, Tracey, told investigators that he remembers her kissing him goodbye at 4:30AM on December 6 and that she asked him to take care of their three-year old daughter, Megan, while she was gone. A neighbor reported that they saw black car parked outside of the home around that time. After Kerry disappeared, a bizarre series of events began to unfold and more than 30 years later, Kerry's case remains unsolved.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Kerry O’Brien Krueger, you are urged to contact Investigator Heather Spranger with the Racine County Sheriff’s Office at 262-636-3367 or the local Crimestoppers at 888-636-9330.

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