Officials have revealed on Thursday, August 14, that 50-year-old Jamison Albert ‘Jamie’ Fisher has been charged with the 1996 disappearance of 11-year-old Trudy Appleby who went missing from her Moline home.
Indictment Details
A Henry County grand jury indicted Fisher with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealment of a homicidal death. Prosecutors have accused Fisher of strangling Trudy and hiding her body, which was never found, wrote Quad City Times.
Henry County State’s Attorney Catherine Runty confirmed that the indictment was entered on Wednesday, August 13. As evidence supports kidnapping charges, Rock Island County State’s Attorney Dora Villarreal explained the statute of limitations kept those charges from being filed, said 11Alive.
Fisher is being held in custody at Scott County Jail on a different set of July drug charges. An interstate detainer has been lodged on the charges of murder, as well as assuring he stays in jail until further court proceedings.
The report included a quote from Runty stating that while no cases involving homicide are uncommon, it is allowed under the law. “We look to use those elements to continue to champion for Trudy,” Runty said to 11Alive.
The Day Trudy Disappeared
Around 9.30 am on August 21, 1996, Trudy Appleby was last seen in her Moline home. The 11Alive report cited witnesses saying that she and a male in his 20s had gotten into a silver or gray four-door vehicle. Despite her father forbidding her from swimming on Campbell’s Island that day, police suspect she may have gone there.
The report further stated that the police pursued various leads, excavated homes, seized a boat, and even leased billboards in efforts to elicit information over the years. Fisher and David L. Whipple, who died in 2022, were both publicly named as persons of interest in 2020. William “Ed” Smith, another significant figure, died in 2014.
Family Commemorations
Trudy would have been 40 years old on August 14. Her family commemorates her and raises awareness regarding her case by conducting a candlelight vigil every August 21. This year’s vigil will be hosted by the Moline Police Department at 7 pm.
As Moline Police Chief Darren Gault explained, detectives will continue searching for Trudy’s body and pursuing any new leads. Gault, as Quad City Times reported, said, “We want to be back in front of you at some point to offer you better answers.”
