Ill., Wis. authorities still searching for missing Green Co. woman

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Authorities are still searching for a missing 37-year-old Green County mother of three who hasn’t been seen since October.

The search for Melissa Trumpy, who was last seen in Monroe, was launched Oct. 27, 2021, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois recalled. Officials initiated the case after her boyfriend, Derek Hammer, was taken into custody by the department for unrelated outstanding warrants in Green County, Wisconsin.

“We hope and pray every day that we get some type of answers,” said Trumpy’s mother, Denise Gilbertson. “We’ve done so much searching on our own, we’ve had other people searching for her, we’ve just not come up for anything.”

The Illinois sheriff’s office said that it believes Trumpy was visiting Hammer in Shannon, Illinois, around the time she went missing and that her vehicle was found later on a road in Stephenson County, Illinois.

The sheriff’s office detailed that multiple law enforcement agencies and volunteer groups have been involved in the search for Trumpy since her disappearance. These departments include the Illinois State Police, FBI, Federal Fish and Wildlife Police and Green County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin.

“Between all these agencies, we’ve had thousands of man hours into this, we’re still continuing to search for her,” said Lt. Bradley Curtis of the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office. “Still continuing to follow up on leads, we’ve been working with the family’s search group to as of late, lot of really good people with that too, and we’re going to find her.”

Dozens of search warrants have been conducted and multiple subpoenas have been ordered, the Carroll Co. Sheriff’s Office explained. Searches have taken place in the air, on the ground, in water and with the use of K-9 units.

“Leads are the biggest thing, we’ve followed up on every lead that we can and we keep following up on them; conspiracy theories are one of the biggest things that hurt us,” said Curtis.

Trumpy is described as 5′10″ tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on Trumpy’s disappearance should call Carroll County Crime Stoppers at 815-244-7867. The agency added that tips gave be given anonymously and may result in a cash reward.

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