NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The latest tip on where to find Tabitha Tuders may have been part of an overseas scam.
Tuders is the missing 13-year-old from East Nashville. Officials with Metro Police said a man may have been trying to use the Tuders case to hitch a free ride to the United States.
The tip came from a man who lives in India.
He told Metro Police to look for Tabitha at a specific address in Fremont, Nebraska that took them to a funeral home and a church.
Detective Steve Jolley called a Fremont Police detective who helped him checked it out.
"The detective investigating there, and myself making phone calls we're able to reach neighbors and everyone in that area,” Jolley said. “There are no young people there. They're all pretty much retired 50s, 60s, 70s, and they've never seen anyone matching that description."
Detective Jolley said the caller kept changing his information. Now, they think he made the whole thing up.
They believe it's likely the caller was running a scam and tried to interject himself into the Tuders case with the hope of getting a letter or e-mail of appreciation.
"And then they'll take this information to the embassy, and they'll say ‘we're assisting this investigator in the United States, could you give me a VISA?’ Apparently, it works sometimes,” Jolley said.
For the Tuders family, it's another disappointment, but Tabitha's father said they've learned not to build expectations.
"We're not going to get our hopes up until we see her, but you know getting back to these tips and stuff. I'm glad they come in and hopefully one of these days it's going to be the right one and we'll get her back,” Bo Tuders said.
So, the investigation continues. Police aren't giving up, certainly not Detective Jolley.
There are people who may know something about the disappearance of Tabitha.
"I have on my board behind my desk I think it's about 10 names now. Any one of those 10 I've not been able to delete them as potential persons of involvement in her disappearance, but I don't have anything to prove that they were involved in her disappearance,” Detective Jolley said.
Some of those people had ties to this neighborhood, which means just one good clue could help police solve the 12-year-old case.
