Man indicted in Trudy Appleby disappearance

HENRY CO., Ill. (KWQC) - A Henry County grand jury handed up an indictment against a person of interest in the disappearance of Trudy Appleby, the 11-year-old girl who went missing from Moline in 1996.

At a press conference Thursday, police said 50-year-old Jamison Fisher was indicted in the death of Appleby.

Fisher is charged in Henry County with:

• Three counts of first-degree murder
• One count of concealment of a homicidal death

Fisher is in the custody of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office for a probation violation, where he will remain for further court proceedings.

According to police, the investigation was led by the Moline Police Department. The case will be prosecuted by the Henry County State’s Attorney, who is assisted by the Rock Island County State’s Attorney and the Office of the Appellate Prosecutor.

Officials said due to a statute of limitations, they are not able to charge Fisher with kidnapping in Henry County.

According to police, the alleged location of the homicide is within Henry County.

Appleby’s is the Quad-Cities’ most widely known missing-person case, and her story has haunted the community for almost 30 years.

Her body was never recovered, but authorities never stopped investigating.

3 new things learned from press conference

• Fisher had previously been named as a person of interest, but now charges have been formally filed against him
• According to the Henry County State’s Attorney, she says Fisher is charged with strangling Appleby to death
• Appleby’s body still has not been found. Her case is one of 605 nation-wide to be labeled a “no body homicide case”

Reactions to charges filed

Rock Island County State’s Attorney Dora Villarreal posted the following to Facebook thanking Michael Griffin the lead detective on Appleby’s case.

Michael Griffin, lead detective on Appleby’s case with the Moline Police Department Criminal Investigations unit posted the following to his Facebook page.

Moline Mayor, Sangeetha Rayapati thanked the Moline Police Department for their commitment to the case.

What’s next

A week from Thursday marks 29 years since Appleby’s disappearance. A vigil will be held at the Moline Police Department on Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

The vigil is open to the public and those involved said they’re expecting an even larger crowd than years before.

• Fisher will be arraigned on Aug. 28

Timeline of events

In 2017, police identified William “Ed” Smith as a suspect. He had died in 2014.

Three years later, police named two more men: David Whipple, who died in 2022, and Fisher.

Authorities said they believed Appleby had been sexually assaulted, killed and dumped somewhere.

She was last seen near her home on Aug. 21, 1996, getting into the passenger side of an older model gray-colored vehicle with a man, police said.

Appleby is said to have asked to go swimming with a friend at Campbell’s Island, but her father said no. Police say phone records from that day indicate she may have gone.

Despite identifying suspects, police lacked enough evidence to bring charges, until now.

Over the years, investigators seized a boat thought to contain forensic evidence, searched countless locations and put up billboards asking witnesses to come forward.

Police dug up a backyard in Colona in 2023. He has always denied his involvement to TV6.

All the while, Appleby’s family and friends kept her memory alive and the case in the public eye.

They’ve held a vigil every year on August 21, the anniversary of her disappearance.

On last year’s anniversary, police indicated they were closing in: