NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On April 29, 2003, a 13-year-old girl named Tabitha Tuders went missing while making her way to an East Nashville bus stop.

Twenty years later, her parents are marking a milestone they hoped to never see.  

“It’s heartache to not know where your child’s at for all these years and then still don’t know nothing after 20 years. It’s hard,” Tabitha’s mother, Debra Tuders, said.  

The Tuders family has spent every day over the past two decades searching for answers.  

“It’s like part of you is missing and it’ll never come back until she comes back,” said Bo Tuders, Tabitha’s father.  

Bo talked about the nieces and nephews Tabitha now has who she’s yet to meet.  

“My 10-year-old granddaughter, she will have conversations with her,” Bo explained. “She goes, ‘Tabitha, you need to come home. Now come on home Tabitha. You know we love you, now come on home.’”   

According to Bo and Debra, leaning on their other children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren has helped them get by over the years. Meanwhile, they’ve done everything they know of to search for Tabitha.  

Debra said the hardest part is the not knowing, adding, “It don’t get easier at all. We just need some kind of closure so we can at least put her to rest.”

With Saturday, April 29 being the 20th anniversary of Tabitha’s disappearance, her parents are once again putting out a plea for information.   

“She has not vanished, somebody has taken her and misplaced her somewhere and we don’t know where she’s at. We don’t know where to begin to look for her at,” Bo said. “Just a little bit of information is all we need. They might not think it’s important, but it’s important to us.” 

Debra’s maternal instincts tell her Tabitha is still alive and out there somewhere. Even if she’s not, the mother hopes to not go another year without answers.  

“She’s always going to be in our hearts, no matter where she’s at, and one day, we’re going to be together again,” Debra said as she teared up. “If she’s not here on Earth, we’ll be together in heaven.”

The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Tabitha’s case. Anyone with information can contact the FBI’s Memphis field office, or call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.