Key facts
- Name: Tabitha Danielle Tuders (“Boo”)
- Born: February 15, 1990, Nashville, Tennessee
- Age at disappearance: 13
- Last seen: April 29, 2003, ~7:00–8:00 a.m.
- Location: Walking to the school bus stop at 14th and Boscobel Streets, East Nashville, Tennessee
- Height / build: ~5’1″, 100 lbs, sandy blonde hair, blue eyes; birthmark on stomach, scar on finger, pierced ears; wearing a light blue shirt, Mudd jeans, white Reebok sneakers, carrying her report card
- Status: Still missing — Metro Nashville Police Homicide Cold Case Unit, active; FBI reward
- Case number: MNPD 03-179023
- Reward: Up to $50,000 (FBI)
- Investigating agency: Metro Nashville Police Department — (615) 862-8600; Nashville Crime Stoppers 615-742-7463; NCMEC 1-800-843-5678
The walk to the bus stop
On the morning of April 29, 2003, thirteen-year-old Tabitha Tuders left her East Nashville home and started walking her usual route to the school bus stop at 14th and Boscobel Streets. It was a walk of a couple of blocks. She never got on the bus. She never arrived at Bailey Middle School.
Neighbors saw her walking toward the stop between 7:50 and 8:00. And a boy waiting at a nearby stop saw something else: a girl matching Tabitha’s description getting into a red car. Another witness gave detectives a fuller version — Tabitha stopping beside a red vehicle, the car circling back, and then Tabitha getting into the front passenger seat.
Her parents called police at 6 p.m. to report her missing. Police set up an operations base in the neighborhood and launched an extensive search — scent-tracking dogs, aviation units, relatives and neighbors papering the community with flyers bearing her photograph. In her room, detectives found a note in her handwriting: “T.D.T. — N-M.T.L.” They’ve been looking for “M.T.L.” ever since.
Who Tabitha was
Tabitha Danielle Tuders was the youngest of three children of Debra and Bo Tuders, raised in East Nashville, known in the family as “Boo.” Her mother said she loved to sing — she was in the choir at their church. She was, by every account, a well-behaved, trustworthy kid: she didn’t skip school, didn’t lie to her parents. The kind of thirteen-year-old whose disappearance makes no sense, because there was nothing in her life pointing toward the door.
For more than two decades, her family has hung a missing poster for Tabitha on their front porch — a beacon, as one account put it, to remind the world they haven’t given up. “We still love her no matter what,” her mother Debra has said. “If she could just, please come home. We miss her so much… I believe she’s still here. I just don’t know where she’s at.”
The investigation
The red car has never been identified. In the years after she vanished, investigators noted that several registered sex offenders were living within about a mile of the Tuders home — a fact that shaped the investigation without ever producing a suspect.
Leads have surfaced and died. In 2015, an anonymous report claimed Tabitha was in Nebraska; Nashville police determined it was false. In August 2020, authorities searched a six-acre rural property in Bon Aqua — including an abandoned house — on the belief she might have been there at some point in 2003. No evidence confirmed a connection.
In June 2024, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an updated age-progression image showing what Tabitha might look like at 34. In 2026, Nashville police renewed their public appeal for information. The FBI continues to offer up to $50,000 for information leading to her recovery and the prosecution of those responsible.
Detective Matthew Filter, who has worked the case, put it plainly on the Unsolved Mysteries podcast: “To solve this case, what it’s going to take is someone to come forward. I know that there is somebody out there. I know there’s at least one person out there that knows what happened to her.”
Theories: what might have happened
Abducted at the bus stop. The witness accounts of the red car — circling back, the front passenger door — are the strongest evidence in the file, and they describe an abduction in progress. What undercuts a resolution: the car was never identified, and no suspect has ever been charged.
Taken by someone she knew. The cryptic note — “T.D.T. — N-M.T.L.” — suggests initials that meant something to a thirteen-year-old. Police have never publicly identified “M.T.L.” A known person could explain why she got into the car.
Runaway. Police don’t believe it, and neither does her family: all her possessions accounted for, no history of running, a report card in her hand on the way to school. Thirteen-year-olds do run — but they don’t usually vanish for 23 years without a trace.
Have information?
Contact the Metro Nashville Police Department: (615) 862-8600; Nashville Crime Stoppers: 615-742-7463 (anonymous); NCMEC: 1-800-843-5678. The FBI offers up to $50,000. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- February 15, 1990 — Tabitha Danielle Tuders is born in Nashville.
- April 29, 2003, ~7–8 a.m. — Leaves home for the bus stop at 14th and Boscobel; witnesses see her walking, then getting into a red car.
- April 29, 2003, 6 p.m. — Parents report her missing; neighborhood search begins.
- 2003 — Detectives find the “T.D.T. — N-M.T.L.” note; several sex offenders noted within a mile.
- 2015 — Anonymous Nebraska tip proves false.
- August 2020 — Six-acre Bon Aqua property searched; no connection confirmed.
- June 2024 — NCMEC releases age-progression image (age 34).
- 2026 — Nashville police renew public appeal.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Tabitha Tuders still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Tabitha Tuders has been missing for more than 23 years. The case remains active with Metro Nashville Police’s Homicide Cold Case Unit.
Was Tabitha Tuders ever found?
No. Despite extensive searches, witness appeals, and a 2020 property search, no trace of Tabitha has ever been found.
What was the red car?
Witnesses described a red vehicle near the bus stop on April 29, 2003 — one said it circled back before a girl matching Tabitha’s description got into the front passenger seat. The car and driver were never identified.
What did Tabitha Tuders’ note say?
Police found a note in her handwriting reading “T.D.T. — N-M.T.L.” The meaning — and the identity of “M.T.L.” — has never been established.
How old would Tabitha Tuders be today?
Born February 15, 1990, she would be 36 in 2026.
Is there a reward in the Tabitha Tuders case?
Yes — the FBI is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to her recovery and the prosecution of those responsible.
How can I help?
Share this case file and the NCMEC age-progression image. Anyone with information should contact Metro Nashville Police at (615) 862-8600 or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Metro Nashville Police Department, missing-person page (nashville.gov) — (615) 862-8600; NCMEC age-progression (Jun 2024) — 1-800-843-5678; FBI $50,000 reward.
- News: WSMV, “Image shows what missing Nashville girl would look like 21 years later” (Jun 4, 2024).
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Tabitha Tuders” (retrieved Oct 2026); Polly Klaas Foundation flyer (Apr 2026).
- Media: Unsolved Mysteries podcast, “The Disappearance of Tabitha Tuders.”
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.