NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — More than two decades of heartache and unanswered questions are slowly coming to the surface for the Rutledge family, as they finally receive crucial updates about the disappearance of their son, Marcus.
It’s been 26 years since Marcus Rutledge vanished from Nashville in June 1998, and the family had nearly given up hope of ever learning what happened to him. But in January 2025, a phone call from Metro Nashville cold case detectives is helping to bring the family a step closer to closure.
David Rutledge, Marcus’s father, received the call he had long awaited — but not the one he had hoped for.
"Whenever Nashville hits my phone screen, I said, 'Oh, something's up, there may be some good information'," Rutledge said. But the news was not what he had dreamed of for over two decades.
David had always hoped that one day a detective would call to tell him that his son was alive and well. Instead, the call was from Nashville detectives, informing him that Marcus’s skeletal remains had been identified after nearly 26 years of uncertainty.
“You take a deep breath and exhale, because it’s been so long...since 1998, June 8, to be exact, since we had any contact with Marcus,” Rutledge said. “So, it was both a feeling of, can this be real, and a feeling that now we finally know.”
Marcus Rutledge, 23 at the time of his disappearance, had been living in Nashville while attending Tennessee State University. However, David Rutledge learned not long ago that his son had never enrolled in the school. The last time the Rutledge family saw Marcus was when he visited home for Memorial Day weekend in 1998.
Rutledge fondly remembers the visit.
“We had such a great time, laughing and joking. Marcus was a funny guy who could light up a room with his smile,” he said.
The family’s nightmare began when a friend from Nashville called, unable to get in touch with Marcus. After that, the search for answers began.
Marcus was reported missing on June 8, 1998. Weeks later, his car was found abandoned at an apartment complex on Cabot Drive in West Nashville. However, no further leads were discovered until December 2010, when a hunter found a human skull along Ashland City Highway.
Though no other remains were found at the time, this discovery set the stage for the latest breakthrough.
Last week, DNA testing confirmed that the remains were indeed those of Marcus Rutledge, identified through a match with a family member’s DNA.
"I believe that now is the beginning that we'll start to learn what actually happened, what precipitated this, and why, and who was involved," David said. He remains determined to find out the truth about his son's fate.
Metro Nashville Police suspect foul play in the case. David Rutledge is seeking justice for his son, whose life was taken far too soon.
“Whoever hurt Marcus took a son from his mother and father and a father away from his then two small children,” he said. “They thought their dad had just walked away, but now both of them said he didn’t just walk away — he was taken away.”
The Rutledge family is now asking for anyone with information to come forward. “For the sake of Marcus's kids, for our sake, you know, say something,” Rutledge pleaded.
The family expressed their deep gratitude to the detectives and local media for never giving up on the case, ensuring that Marcus’s story remains alive, even after all these years.
The investigation by Cold Case-Homicide/Missing Persons Unit detectives is ongoing.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at kelsey.gibbs@newschannel5.com
With new technology comes new ways to help people. This story shows a great use of AI that is starting to be rolled out in Tennessee. This one can help those who may be blind, deaf or neurodiverse navigate the Tennessee State Library and Archives from an app on their smart phone.
-Lelan Statom
