LEESBURG – It has been ten long years since Josh Duckett saw the face of his two-year-old son, Trenton. But he and his family have not given up hope that they may one day see him again. Tonight at 7:30 pm outside City Hall in Leesburg, friends, neighbors and family will gather on the 10th anniversary of his disappearance to keep his memory, and hopefully the investigation, in the forefront of the minds of the community.
In a case, that stunned the nation, Trenton’s mother Melinda Duckett, who had claimed her son had gone missing from his bed while she was with friends in the living room, shot herself to death in a closet in her grandparent’s home. Duckett had been under scrutiny by local police after she changed her story several times, had trouble accounting for her whereabouts, and refused a polygraph when asked about where she had been the day of his disappearance. Melinda had shown authorities a screen in her son’s room that had been cut and suggested Josh may have abducted him. However, Josh passed a polygraph and voice stress test with flying colors and was not considered a suspect in the child’s disappearance. Melinda Duckett had recently been questioned in a television interview by Fox News Personality Nancy Grace, who had demanded that Duckett tell the truth about where Trenton was. Grace became aggressive towards Melinda , shouting at her and pounding on the desk demanding answers. Duckett was found dead shortly before the segment aired. She reportedly left several suicide notes, none of which contained any information about what happened to her son. Grace later settled out of court with the boy’s family when faced with a lawsuit claiming she had driven Duckett to suicide.
Melinda and Josh Duckett had had a tumultuous relationship since Trenton’s birth, that included allegations of domestic violence, and questions about Melinda’s mental
stability, including alleged threats to harm the child. Melinda was sent to anger management and several times to therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression. She was granted a restraining order against Josh at one point. Trenton had been placed in the custody of his grandparents on several occasions, and at one point into foster care. The couple had been engaged in a contentious custody battle, leading to speculation that one or the other parent had hidden Trenton, but no evidence was ever found to corroborate that suspicion.
A new computer-generated image has been released by the National center for Missing and Exploited Children, showing what Trenton may look like at age 11. Anyone with information about the disappearance of Trenton Duckett is asked to call Leesburg Police at (352) 787-2121.
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