MONROE — Thursday marked the 2-year anniversary of the disappearance of Melissa Trumpy. On Oct. 26, 2021, Trumpy, then 37, went missing after work. Her last known whereabouts were in the Shannon, Ill., area with her estranged boyfriend, Derek Hammer. Hammer is currently serving a 5-year prison sentence on unrelated charges.
Trumpy would have recently celebrated her 39th birthday. She is a white female, about 5-foot-10 and weighed about 160 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has a number of facial piercings and body tattoos. Authorities in Carroll County (Ill.) are treating the disappearance as a homicide investigation.
Those with tips or relevant information are urged to contact the Carroll County (Ill.) Sheriff’s office at 815-244-7867. Green County authorities can be reached at 608-328-9401.
“Law Enforcement is still actively investigating Melissa’s disappearance,” the Green County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post Thursday, marking the 2-year anniversary of when Trumpy went missing. The Sheriff’s Office added that it is offering a $5,000 reward for information that brings closure to the incident. “You can remain anonymous and submit information to Green County Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-I-C-CRIME (1-800-422-7463), submit a tip by clicking the link through the website (https://greencountycrimestoppers.com), or by contacting us directly.”
Trumpy is the mother to three children, a teenager in high school and two in elementary school.
Family members spoke to Trumpy the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 and were alerted to Trumpy’s disappearance the following morning when they received a call after Trumpy did not show up for work. She had worked a previous shift until 10:30 p.m. the night before.
The Carroll County Sheriff Office launched an investigation looking into Trumpy’s whereabouts on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. It was believed Trumpy was destined to Shannon, Ill., where Derek and his mother reside. Per a court order, Derek was on a no-contact stipulation with Melissa.
A search party with dogs combed through the Freeport area for several hours with no conclusion. The family searched a 20-mile radius around Shannon, including areas of Stephenson County.
Trumpy was believed to be in a silver Toyota Tundra extended-cab truck or a white Toyota Avalon four-door sedan. The truck was later found abandoned near W. Pearl City and S. Bolton Roads in Stephenson County, Ill.
Deputies physically searched a number of properties, from her rural Monticello home to fields, woods, farms and rivers in Illinois. Search warrants and subpoenas have been requested for telephone, social media and financial records in an effort to find any activity that could give clues to her current location. Authorities in both Illinois, Wisconsin and the FBI were reportedly working the case.
Hammer is thought to be the last person known to have seen Melissa, and has been uncooperative with authorities in regards to her disappearance.
A month before her disappearance, on Sept. 11, 2021, the Stateline Area Narcotics Taskforce (SLANT), executed a warrant on Melissa’s home. Green County Deputies, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Green County Human Services, Stateline Area Narcotics Taskforce, Green County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team, and Monroe Police Dept. Emergency Response Team aided in the investigation and conduction of the search warrant.
After the search, Hammer was arrested for two counts disorderly conduct (domestic abuse related), battery (domestic abuse related), possession of THC (felony), possession of cocaine (2nd offense), two counts of a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of child neglect, maintaining a drug trafficking dwelling, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Melissa was arrested for child neglect, possession of THC, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Previously, Melissa’s legal record consisted only of minor traffic violations.
A criminal complaint also states that “(Melissa Trumpy) Was present at (friend’s) residence…in Shannon, IL, with…Derek Hammer, in the basement.” The complaint also stated that Melissa and Derek were in and out of that home on that day.
This past May, Hammer was given a 5-year state prison sentence by Rock County Judge Ashley J., Morse. Hammer was credited with 430 days served already, and he could get out of prison in early 2027.
Hammer also faces additional charges in Carroll and Stephenson County, Ill., including drug related offenses. Hammer’s Carroll County arrest came after he reportedly threatened to kill a neighbor in Shannon for harassing his mother, within days of his return home from Green County Jail.
Before returning to the Midwest, Hammer served less than two years at High Desert State Prison in Nevada for possessing and manufacturing explosives and battery by strangulation. He was paroled there in 2019, records indicate.