Dateline Missing in America - Ep. 15: Missing in Music City

Dateline Originals

NBC News

True Crime

4.6 • 773 Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Marcus Rutledge disappeared on June 8, 1998, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 23 years old and had been attending Tennessee State University. Nearly a month later, Marcus’s car, a red Plymouth Neon, was found abandoned about 20 miles from his apartment in Nashville. Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz talks to his father, David Rutledge, his sister, Felicia Rutledge, his ex-girlfriend Valencia Bryant, and Metro Nashville Police Department Detective Matthew Filter. UPDATE: In January 2025, remains found in 2010 were positively identified as belonging to Marcus. Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/missing-in-america/remains-identified-marcus-rutledge-tennessee-rcna190291 Authorities suspect foul play and the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Metro Nashville Police Department Cold Case Unit at 615-862-7329. Get more information and see pictures of Marcus Rutledge here: https://www.nbcnews.com/datelinemissing This episode was originally published on July 18, 2024.

Transcript

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0:00.0	College is such a special time for any young adult,
0:10.1	filled with new experiences and new relationships.
0:14.8	Sometimes where you go is also where you find out who you are
0:19.1	and what you want out of the world.
0:21.6	For Marcus Rutledge, that place of discovery was Tennessee State University in Nashville.
0:28.6	David Rutledge is his dad.
0:31.6	It's a special place, a place where not only academic learning takes place, but also social learning.
0:41.2	Home of the Tigers, TSU is a historically black university and counts Oprah Winfrey among its most
0:48.8	famous alumni. Marcus proudly wore his royal blue and white and for good reason.
0:55.2	For the Rutledge's, TSU is a family affair.
0:59.2	Both his parents went there, and when Marcus started as a freshman,
1:03.4	his sister Felicia was a sophomore.
1:06.7	Back then, she had some big sister advice.
1:10.0	I remember when he first registered, and my mom was like, oh, you should take an 8 o'clock class.
1:15.6	And I told him, you do not want to take an 8 a.m. class.
1:19.5	In the spring of 1998, Marcus was set to graduate, and the family was excited to see their youngest son wear that cap and gown.
1:29.6	Except that never happened.
1:32.9	Because on June 8, 1998, Marcus Rutledge disappeared.
1:39.3	And for 26 years, his family has been living with that mystery.
1:45.0	It's possible that at the time he disappeared, he was involved with people that you didn't
1:49.0	know anything about.
1:50.0	I'm not going to say keeping a secret from you, but that he just wasn't talking about.
	...

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