Key facts
- Name: Trenton John Duckett
- Born: August 10, 2004
- Age at disappearance: 2
- Last seen: August 27, 2006
- Location: Windemere Apartments, Griffin Road, Leesburg, Florida
- Height / build: 3’0″, 35 lbs, brown hair, brown eyes, biracial; small mark over left eye; last seen in denim shorts, a green-and-blue striped shirt, and a diaper
- Status: Still missing — active investigation, Leesburg Police Department case 06083735
- Investigating agency: Leesburg Police Department, (352) 787-2121; NCMEC, 1-800-843-5678
The cut screen
Just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 27, 2006, police arrived at the Windemere Apartments on Griffin Road in Leesburg, Florida, on a report of a missing child. The mother, twenty-one-year-old Melinda Duckett, told them she had put her two-year-old son Trenton to bed around 7 p.m. When she checked on him later, his bed was empty.
His bedroom window was open. The screen had been cut.
What followed became one of the most high-profile missing-child cases in the country. Investigators reconstructed Melinda’s movements that night, and the evidence and witness accounts began to conflict with what she’d told police. Several items connected to Trenton were found discarded in a dumpster at the apartment complex. Suspicion fell on the mother.
Twelve days after Trenton vanished, Melinda appeared on a national cable news program, where the host pressed her aggressively about her son’s disappearance and her whereabouts that night. The interview never aired in full. The next day — September 8, 2006 — Melinda Duckett died by suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot. She left two notes. Neither said what happened to Trenton.
Twenty years of not knowing
Trenton’s father, Joshua Duckett, has spent two decades in the space his son’s absence left. Every year, he and Trenton’s grandmother, Carla Fort, gather family and supporters for a candlelight vigil at Leesburg Town Square on the anniversary. On August 27, 2026 — the twentieth anniversary — they gathered again, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a new age-progression image showing what Trenton might look like at 22.
Joshua operates on a belief he has never surrendered: that his son is alive. “Absolutely. One hundred percent. I’ve always stuck by it since day one that you prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best,” he told Inside Lake in 2026. He knows not everyone shares it. “The only thing that could change my outlook on that is if law enforcement showed me definitive proof.” For Joshua, definitive proof would be his son’s body. “They don’t have evidence that says anything. They don’t have evidence either way that he’s dead or alive.”
Leesburg police agree the case isn’t over. “Look at the age progression,” Senior Detective Allen Carter said in 2026. “Keep your eyes open. The family’s not giving up, and we’re not giving up either. This is still a very active case, and we intend to work it until it is solved.”
NCMEC’s John Bischoff, who leads the Missing Children Division, put it in terms every long-term case shares: “We’ve seen long-term missing child cases solved many years later, sometimes because one person came forward with the right piece of information. We believe the same can happen for Trenton.”
Theories: what might have happened
Melinda was involved. This is where the investigation pointed: the conflicting evidence, the items in the dumpster, the cut screen that may have been staged. But Melinda died twelve days in, taking whatever she knew with her, and she was never charged. The two notes she left explained nothing. It is possible to believe she knew what happened and impossible to prove it — and the presumption of innocence follows her, uncharged, into the grave.
An intruder took him through the window. The cut screen is the physical fact everything else has to reckon with. If someone cut it from outside and lifted a sleeping two-year-old out, the scene makes sense — and the absence of any identified intruder in twenty years is the problem. No suspect, no witness, no forensic tie.
He is alive. His father’s theory, held at one hundred percent for twenty years. A two-year-old cannot hide himself; if Trenton is alive, someone took him and someone raised him, and someone, somewhere, knows a young man whose earliest story doesn’t add up. The age-progression image is built for exactly that someone.
A cut screen. A dumpster. Two notes that said nothing. A father who still holds a vigil every August and still pictures a two-year-old when he closes his eyes. Twenty years of not knowing.
Have information?
Contact the Leesburg Police Department at (352) 787-2121 or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- August 10, 2004 — Trenton John Duckett is born.
- August 27, 2006, ~7:00 p.m. — Melinda Duckett says she puts 2-year-old Trenton to bed at the Windemere Apartments, Leesburg.
- August 27, 2006, just after 9:00 p.m. — Police respond; Trenton is gone; his bedroom window is open, the screen cut.
- Late August 2006 — Evidence conflicts with Melinda’s account; Trenton-related items found in a complex dumpster.
- September 7, 2006 — Melinda appears on national cable news and is pressed about the case; the interview never fully airs.
- September 8, 2006 — Melinda dies by suicide, leaving two notes that explain nothing.
- 2006–2026 — Annual candlelight vigils at Leesburg Town Square; case remains active.
- August 2026 — NCMEC releases an age-progression image of Trenton at 22 for the 20th anniversary.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Trenton Duckett still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Trenton Duckett has been missing for 20 years. The Leesburg Police Department says the investigation remains active.
Was Trenton Duckett ever found?
No. Despite a nationwide search, thousands of tips, and twenty years of investigation, no trace of Trenton has ever been found.
How old would Trenton Duckett be today?
Trenton was born August 10, 2004 — he turned 22 in August 2026.
What happened to Trenton Duckett’s mother?
Melinda Duckett, 21, reported Trenton missing on August 27, 2006. As suspicion fell on her, she appeared on a national cable news show on September 7; the next day she died by suicide. She left two notes, neither explaining what happened to her son.
Does Trenton Duckett’s father believe he is alive?
Yes. Joshua Duckett has said for twenty years that he believes his son is alive: “They don’t have evidence either way that he’s dead or alive.” He holds an annual vigil and supports the NCMEC age-progression releases.
How can I help?
Share this case file and the age-progression image. If you have any information, contact the Leesburg Police Department at (352) 787-2121 or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Leesburg Police Department, (352) 787-2121 (case 06083735); NCMEC; Senior Detective Allen Carter statements (2026).
- News: Inside Lake, “20 years after Trenton Duckett disappeared, family to gather for annual vigil” (Aug 27, 2026); NCMEC, “20 Years of Not Knowing: Trenton Duckett’s dad still searching for his son” (2026).
- Media: Paradise After Dark / Florida Themis Project (3-part series, 2020).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.