NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tabitha Tuders disappeared while walking to her school bus stop in East Nashville 22 years ago.

The Metro Nashville Police Department has not released any new information in this case, but her family has not given up the search for answers. A missing persons banner still hangs from Tabitha's home.

"Well, we're still surviving — it's [been] 22 years of torture," Tabitha's dad, Bo Tuders, told News 2.

Bo was the last person to talk to her before she left for school on April 29, 2003.

"I told her to get up and then get ready for school because I had to leave and go to work," Bo said. "She said, 'Okay, daddy. I love you!' I said, 'I love you, too, and I'll see you this evening.' She said 'Okay,' and that was the last I saw of her.

Investigators with the MNPD said Tabitha never made it to the bus stop.

"She was carrying her report card back with her — and she had made straight As," Bo said. "She was a sweet, loving little girl."

In 2020, police ruled out a person of interest in the case. The mystery surrounding her disappearance has caused heartache for her family.

"Somebody took her and she's gone," Bo said. "It could be sex [trafficking] people. We never know. My fatherly instincts say I think she's out there, but my manly instincts probably think she's gone."

Pictures of young Tabitha sit inside the Tuders' home. Last year, the FBI released a photo of what they think she'd look like today at 34 years old.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Tabitha's recovery and the prosecution of the person responsible for her disappearance.

"If she's out there, she needs to come home," Bo said. "We'll treat it just like this had never happened, but it would be hard to catch up on 22 years."

Tabitha has a birthmark on her stomach, a scar on her finger and pierced ears. If you have any information on this case, you can call the MNPD at 615-742-7463 or the FBI at 1-800-225-5324.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/tabitha-tuders-22-year-anniversary-disappearance/