LEESBURG, Florida—Wednesday marks 19 years since Trenton Duckett was reported missing and his family once again will hold a candlelight vigil in his honor.
The vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Leesburg Town Square, 500 West Main Street, hosted by Trenton’s father Joshua, and his grandmother Carla Fort.
Nineteen years ago, Leesburg and Lake County drew national attention when a mother embroiled in a divorce and custody dispute reported her toddler missing. In the two weeks after Trenton Duckett was reported missing, the case took dramatic turns as police found sonogram photos in a dumpster, accused his father of involvement, and investigated his mother’s suicide following an appearance on CNN’s Nancy Grace.
Joshua Duckett was a young father going through a nasty divorce with Trenton’s mom, Melinda Duckett. After Melinda hacked Josh’s Myspace account and sent herself a threatening message, Melinda was granted an injunction, and all custody and visitation rights were stolen from Josh. He took Trenton swimming just before the message was sent and never imagined that would be the last he saw his smiling little boy who was learning to use the bathroom on his own. And now the tiny toddler, residents of Lake County and people all around the country prayed for, is a 21-year-old man if he is still alive.
Over the years, law enforcement, family, friends, and armchair detectives have floated countless theories, but no evidence has ever confirmed that Trenton is deceased. “There is no verifiable proof he is dead,” Leesburg Police Chief Joe Iozzi told Inside Lake in 2022 when he was a captain, serving as the department’s public information officer.
On Aug. 27, 2006, 2-year-old Trenton was reported missing by his mother, Melinda. She told authorities she put him down for bed around 6 p.m. and after watching a movie, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” with two male friends, she checked on him and he was gone, the screen in his bedroom window slashed open. She soon became a suspect – police found discarded sonogram photos in the dumpster of her apartment complex, and they didn’t buy her story about the cut screen. LPD soon began tracking her movements in the days before the boy went missing.
Information Melinda gave the police did not match evidence found through surveillance videos and witness accounts, and the case was propelled into the national spotlight.
The boy’s disappearance was covered by Nancy Grace, Greta Van Susteren and Dr. Phil to name a few, and less than two weeks after reporting her son missing, Melinda took her own life, and took all the answers with her. The suicide happened just one day after a fist-pounding interview by Nancy Grace. Melinda’s adoptive parents later sued and agreed to a $250,000 settlement.
Each year, on Aug. 27, Josh holds a candlelight vigil to mark Trenton’s disappearance at Leesburg’s Town Square. Even now, so many years later, there are often more than two dozen people in attendance for a short speech by Josh, followed by candles at nightfall.
“We have never given up,” Josh told Inside Lake. “We continue to fight. Hopefully, we can bring him home where he belongs.”
If you have information on Trenton’s disappearance, call LPD at 352-787-2121.
