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. Marcus is 6’ and weighed 190 lbs. when he disappeared. Anyone with information about his case 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
College is such a special time for any young adult, filled with new experiences and new relationships.
Sometimes where you go is also where you find out who you are and what you want out of the world.
For Marcus Rutledge, that place of discovery was Tennessee State University in Nashville.
David Rutledge is his dad.
It's a special place, a place where not only academic learning takes place, but also social learning.
Home of the Tigers, TSU is a historically black university and counts Oprah Winfrey among its most famous alumni.
Marcus proudly wore his royal blue and white, and for good reason.
For the Rutledges, TSU is a family affair.
Both his parents went there, and when Marcus started as a freshman, his sister Felicia was a sophomore.
Back then, she had some big sister advice.
I remember when he first registered, and my mom was like, oh, you should take an 08:00 class.
And I told him, you do not want to take an 08:00 a.m.
class.
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.
Except that never happened because on June 8, 1998, Marcus Rutledge disappeared.
And for 26 years, his family has been living with that mystery.
It's possible that at the time he disappeared, he was involved with people that you didn't know anything about.
I'm not gonna say keeping a secret from you, but that he just wasn't talking about.
I wonder whether or not Marcus was actually into something that was bigger than he was and he was actually trying to get away just to leave and leave no trace.
I'm Josh Mankiewicz, and this is Dateline.