Missing
Thomas Gene Trotter
Trotter, approximately 1995
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/03/1995
Missing location (approx) :
Oroville, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
Age at the time of disappearance: 34 years old
Height / Weight : 6'2, 190 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : Blue jeans and a t-shirt or tank top.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Trotter has a tattoo on his shoulder.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Trotter was last seen at his home in the 90 block of Lone Tree Road in Oroville, California sometime during the July 4 weekend in 1995. He has never been heard from again.
Blood and bullet holes were found in his home after his disappearance, and his truck turned up in the hills east of Oroville. Trotter worked as a truck driver for the Chico Drain Oil Co. He left behind a young daughter who was visiting relatives when he disappeared.
Days after his disappearance, Trotter was scheduled to testify as a witness at the spousal abuse trial of his former neighbor, Dennis Lindsey Oates. He and Oates had gotten into a fight a few days before Trotter's disappearance, and Oates accused him of having an affair with his estranged wife.
A witness saw Oates packing up Trotter's pickup truck outside his home the day Trotter disappeared. Oates allegedly said he and Trotter were going camping.
Trotter's body was never found in spite of extensive searches, but Oates was convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm in his case. He is serving 35 years to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2022. He has refused to reveal the location of Trotter's body.
Trotter's daughter received approximately $90,000 in a wrongful death settlement against Oates. Foul play is suspected in Trotter's case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Butte County District Attorney's Office
541-218-4408
September 2021 updates and sources
The Chico Enterprise Record
The Oroville Mercury-Register
Unsolved in the News
In Memory of Tom Trotter
Butte County Sheriff's Office
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
