Kevin Conway’s No. 87 ExtenZe Toyota will carry the images of Tabitha Tuders along with contact and reward information on the deck lid for the Nashville 300 NASCAR Nationwide race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 23, 2011
CHARLOTTE, NC (April 19, 2011) – As part of the ‘ExtenZe Local Hero’ program, 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year driver Kevin Conway is stepping up to assist the Nashville Police Department in the endangered missing teenager Tabitha Tuders case. For the upcoming Nashville NASCAR race weekend (April 22-23) at Nashville Superspeedway, Conway’s No. 87 ExtenZe Toyota will carry images along with contact and reward information on the deck lid of the Tuders case that has eluded the Nashville Police Department for the last 8 years. In fact, April 29, 2011, one weekend after the Tuders case will be featured on Conway’s car, will mark the eighth anniversary of her case.
Tabitha, who was 13 years-old at the time of her disappearance, is believed to have left her 1312 Lillian Street home sometime after 7:30 a.m. on April 29, 2003 to catch her school bus at the nearby intersection of 14th & Boscobel Streets. However, she did not board the bus that day and did not attend school and has been missing ever since. Authorities would like the public to know that Tabitha has a birthmark on her stomach, a scar on her finger, and her ears are pierced.
After six grueling years, Metro Nashville detectives and FBI agents staffed the case again last year with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That meeting led to the suggestion of a re-canvassing of the neighborhood during the seventh anniversary of Tabitha’s disappearance to see if anyone in the community held the vital piece of information that would lead to the answer of what happened to Tabitha. What was put in action on April 30th last year was a team of 25 Metro Youth Services detectives, FBI agents and representatives from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children who went door to door re-investigating the East Nashville neighborhood from where Tuders disappeared back in 2003.
The case was reassigned from the Youth Services Division to the Cold Case/Homicide Unit in January 2011. Nashville law enforcement authorities continue to seek the public’s help in locating the whereabouts of Tuders and are hoping that Conway and ExtenZe Racing’s assistance around the eighth anniversary of this case will help them reach that one person out there that may have the answer. The FBI has posted a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of a person or persons criminally involved in Tabitha’s disappearance. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. Callers can remain anonymous and still qualify for the reward money.
“At ExtenZe and NEMCO Motorsports we like to do our part to give back to the communities and markets we race in and couldn’t be more thrilled to help out and honor the Nashville Police Department in the Tabitha Tuders missing juvenile case,” said 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year driver Kevin Conway. “This case has escaped Nashville law enforcement long enough and we just want to step up and do our part to dust off this case the best we can. With the reach and platform NASCAR gives us we hope that by carrying images along with contact and reward information on our car of the Tuders case we will reach that one person out there that may know something that could help solve this case.”
The ‘ExtenZe Local Hero’ program pays tribute to people who have gone to great lengths to make a difference in their communities. Those selected have faced danger, sacrificed their own safety for others or in some way displayed leadership that changed their community for the better. Award recipients become ExtenZe Racing Honorary Crew Chiefs, receive a tour of the paddock, attend the pre-race NASCAR Driver/Crew Chief meeting, and sit atop the pit box with Crew Chief Steven Gray to root on driver Conway piloting the royal blue and red No. 87 ExtenZe Toyota.
Fans can visit www.ExtenZeRacing.com to nominate their own local heroes. Also check in on blog/twitter feeds for the latest information on ExtenZe Racing and Kevin Conway.
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