The Vanished Podcast

This episode originally aired on June 22, 2020. Since that time, there have been significant updates in Trudy's case.
On the morning of August 21, 1996, Dennis Appleby left his Moline, Illinois, home to head to work, leaving his 11-year-old daughter, Trudy, at home to spend the summer day. Around 9:30 a.m., a neighbor saw Trudy with a man who appeared to be in his 20s, with dark curly hair and a baseball cap. The unidentified man was driving a silver or gray four-door sedan.
Dennis came home from work that evening and was surprised to find that Trudy was not home. He called neighbors and some of Trudy’s friends, but she was not with any of them. That is when Dennis called the police to report Trudy missing.
For decades, Trudy’s case remained unsolved. In this episode, originally released in 2020, we discuss the people investigators believed may have been responsible for Trudy’s disappearance and the evidence that led them there.
In 2025, there was an arrest in Trudy’s case. Stay tuned until the very end of the episode to hear about the latest developments.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Trudy Appleby, please call the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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Over the past three weeks, we’ve followed Andrew Dixon’s story from the beginning, from the life he was trying to build, to the challenges he faced, to the fear and confusion that seemed to grow in the weeks leading up to his disappearance.
We traced Andrew’s final known movements, the early investigation, and the discovery of the car abandoned along a remote stretch of highway roughly 45 miles north of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. But beyond that point, Andrew’s trail goes cold. There is no way to know for certain whether Andrew was behind the wheel when that vehicle was abandoned, or whether he ever made it to that stretch of highway at all.
As the investigation continued, new information complicated the picture. Early assumptions began to shift, and those closest to Andrew were left trying to make sense of details that often did not fully add up.
In this fourth and final installment of Andrew’s story, we take a closer look at the search efforts, the theories surrounding what may have happened to Andrew, and the questions that still remain unanswered.
In Andrew’s case, every possibility comes with contradictions. Every theory leaves something unexplained. Until Andrew is found, the people who love him are left searching for answers in the spaces between what is known and what is missing.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Andrew Dixon, please contact the Truth or Consequences Police Department at 575-894-7111.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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Over the past two weeks, you’ve heard the first two parts of Andrew Dixon’s story. In Part 1, we explored Andrew’s early life in Oklahoma and the complicated family history that followed him into adulthood. After moving to New Mexico, Andrew built a life and became a father, but by 2025, that stability had begun to unravel. He was struggling with addiction, his relationship had ended, and a legal situation left him temporarily unable to see his daughter, something that deeply affected him.
In Part 2, we focused on the days leading up to his disappearance. Andrew appeared increasingly fearful, telling others he believed he was being watched or followed. Some saw this as paranoia fueled by substance use, while others weren’t so sure.
On July 28, 2025, Andrew was last seen in Truth or Consequences. By the next day, both he and his roommate’s Toyota Camry were gone. Andrew was reported missing on July 30.
As Detective Jeffers began working the case, he uncovered digital evidence and interviewed those close to him, but one major detail remained unknown. The car Andrew had been driving had actually been located shortly after he disappeared; it just hadn’t yet been connected to Andrew.
In this episode, we examine where that car was found, what was located inside, and how that discovery changed the direction of the case.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Andrew Dixon, please contact the Truth or Consequences Police Department at 575-894-7111.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, you heard Part 1 of Andrew Dixon’s story. You learned about Andrew’s early life in Oklahoma and how, from the very beginning, his story was complicated. Over time, the patterns he was born into followed Andrew into adulthood.
Andrew ultimately left Oklahoma for a fresh start in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After a long-term relationship with the mother of his child had ended, Andrew moved north to Truth or Consequences, hoping to begin again.
There, a childhood friend's family opened their home to Andrew while he worked to get back on his feet. Andrew found work and, for a time, seemed to be rebuilding some stability. But in the months before he went missing, another painful setback emerged. A legal situation involving his child's mother left Andrew temporarily unable to see his daughter until the matter was resolved in court.
Those who were close to him could see that the loss hit at the center of who Andrew was. Being a father wasn’t just important to Andrew; it was the role that mattered most. As that part of his life became uncertain, the strain began to show. He was under pressure, emotionally raw, and trying to hold himself together while facing instability in nearly every direction.
Then, in the weeks before Andrew disappeared, something shifted. Several people said he had become increasingly fearful. He believed people were watching him, following him, possibly trying to harm him. He spoke about being tracked, hacked, and pulled into something dangerous. To some, it sounded like paranoia. To others, it was harder to dismiss entirely.
The people who cared about Andrew were left with a question that still hangs over this case. Was he reacting to a real threat, or was he being consumed by fear that had lost touch with reality? As investigators and Andrew’s loved ones began piecing together the days leading up to his disappearance, they kept circling back to that same unsettling question. With each new detail, the line between paranoia and real danger became harder to see.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Andrew Dixon, please contact the Truth or Consequences Police Department at 575-894-7111.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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On the evening of July 28, 2025, surveillance cameras at the Sierra County Detention Facility in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, captured a white Kia Soul pulling into the parking lot. The driver parked, stepped out, and walked away. Investigators believe that the driver may have been 32-year-old Andrew Dixon. That brief moment on surveillance video would later take on new significance.
Two days later, Andrew was reported missing. A man contacted police to report that his 2004 blue Toyota Camry was missing, and he believed his friend and roommate, Andrew Dixon, may have taken it. He had tried multiple times to reach Andrew, but got no response. He also told investigators that this behavior was out of character. Andrew had never taken anything from him before.
Andrew’s own car, the Kia seen on surveillance, had been left behind at the detention facility. No one knew why he would leave his vehicle there, why he would take his roommate’s Camry instead, or where Andrew may have been headed.
As Detective Sergeant Shane Jeffers began investigating, what initially seemed like a possible misunderstanding involving a borrowed car quickly became something more complex. In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Andrew’s life had been unraveling, and those closest to him were left trying to piece together a story that didn’t quite make sense.
In this episode, we will begin piecing together the fragments of Andrew Dixon’s life and the mystery of what may have happened to him.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Andrew Dixon, please contact the Truth or Consequences Police Department at 575-894-7111.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
Follow The Vanished on social media at:
Facebook
Instagram
Patreon
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.