A suspect, 50-year-old Jamison Fisher, has just been charged with the murder of Trudy Appleby and the concealment of her death.
National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenA picture of Trudy Appleby from before she disappeared.
Nearly 30 years after Trudy Appleby’s disappearance in Moline, Illinois, a suspect has been arrested for the 11-year-old girl’s murder.
Trudy was last seen on August 21, 1996, getting into a grey vehicle with an unidentified man near her home in Moline. It’s believed she was trying to go swimming with a friend that day. Now, 50-year-old Jamison Fisher has been indicted by a grand jury for her murder and the concealment of her death.
Fisher was first named as a person of interest in the case in 2020. He was not indicted with kidnapping charges, as the statute of limitations had already passed. Though this investigation has been long and tragic, police are hoping that Trudy’s family will finally get answers — and justice.
Inside Jamison Fisher’s Arrest For The Murder Of Trudy Appleby
Police PhotoA mugshot of Jamison Fisher from 2020.
A Henry County grand jury indicted Jamison Fisher on August 13, 2025, on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealment of a homicidal death in Trudy Appleby’s murder, CBS News reported. While he wasn’t named as a person of interest until 2020, he was the family friend and “associate” of another suspect who died back in 2014.
“28 years, 11 months and 23 days, that’s how long the family of Trudy Appleby has waited for a resolution to her disappearance,” Moline Police Department Chief Darren Gault acknowledged. “That is the time it has taken to stand before you and say what we long had hoped to say: ‘We have made an arrest in the murder of Trudy Appleby.'”
Fisher was already in custody in Iowa on unrelated charges when the Moline Police Department served the new arrest warrant in the Trudy Appleby case. He will stay behind bars in Iowa pending further court proceedings.
The indictment served to Fisher alleges that he strangled and killed Trudy Appleby, and then concealed her death by hiding the body.
“This development is the result of tireless work by generations of investigators, unwavering support from our community and new pieces of information that helped us complete a long-unfinished puzzle,” Gault said.
While the evidence supported charging Fisher with kidnapping as well, the statute of limitations had expired for such charges. Sadly, Trudy’s remains have yet to be recovered, and the investigation is still ongoing.
A Renewed Hope For Closure In The Trudy Appleby Case
Kelly Roland CarlsonIt’s believed that Trudy Appleby was trying to go swimming with a friend on the day she vanished.
Trudy Appleby, who would be about 40 years old today, was last seen around 9:30 a.m. on August 21, 1996. She had gotten into a grey car, possibly a Chevrolet Cavalier, with a white man in his 20s in Moline, Illinois.
Shortly before her disappearance, she had asked her father if she could go swimming with a friend, but her dad had said no. It’s believed that she went ahead with those plans anyway, and she was attacked along the way. When she went missing, Trudy was reportedly wearing a black, one-piece swimsuit with a t-shirt, spandex shorts, socks, and blue tennis shoes. Witnesses said that she was also carrying a beach towel.
As the years passed, the Moline Police Department continued to work on the case. However, it was a frustratingly slow process, as it was difficult to find people who would cooperate with the investigation.
“We continue to work on it, we continue to get a lot of community support, and we’ll continue to do that until we get justice for the Appleby family,” Moline Police Detective Michael Griffin told WQAD back in 2024. “Those with knowledge of the case, they’re not coming forward. We’re getting half-truths from some, stonewalled by others. They’re protecting a child predator.”
Gault expressed that the new development in the case is not a cause for rejoicing, but for bringing Trudy Appleby’s family and community closer to getting the answers they need and the justice they deserve.
“Today is not about celebration, it’s about a resolution, it’s about accountability, and most importantly, it’s about Trudy Appleby,” Gault said. “This arrest does not erase the pain, but it does bring us one step closer to closure. We hope it offers a measure of peace to her family and to all of those who have walked this journey with them.”
After reading about the arrest of Trudy Appleby’s suspected killer, discover the story of the young girl who went missing in 2019 and was found living under a staircase about three years later. Then, learn about 11 famous unsolved disappearances.
