IMAP accounts: If you empty the Trash, then the emails are gone from Thunderbird and also the server because Imap accounts synchronise with server. POP accounts: If you emptied the Trash in a Pop account, then it might be still on the server, but it depends upon whether you have Pop Account Settings to delete off server when you delete emails. Emails may still be in the original folder - the folder the email was in before you deleted it, eg: Inbox. But not if you have compacted the Inbox. So if you have not compacted recently you could check the mbox files. Do not compact anything until you have checked your files. In Thunderbird * 'Help' > 'More Troubleshooting Information' * Under 'Application Basics - half way - Profile Folders - click on 'open folder' a new window opens showing contents of profile folder name folder * Close Thunderbird now - this is important * If this was a pop account - click on 'Mail' folder - (if Imap click on 'ImapMail' folder) * click on mail account name that has missing emails. you should see the 'Inbox' mbox file - it has no extension. I'm not sure what folder the deleted message was originally in, but there will be an mbox file for that folder name. For this example I'm assuming it was the 'Inbox'. * Open the 'Inbox' (no extension) mbox file using Notepad or similar text editor program Emails are written to the file one after the other, so oldest will be at the top and newest at the bottom. Each email will start with these lines: this is an example * From - Sun Dec 28 18:14:40 2014 * '''X-Mozilla-Status: 0001''' * X-Mozilla-Status2: 00800000 Use 'Edit' > 'Find' Try to locate the deleted email, by searching for the Subject or part of the email address etc. Or just work down from the top trying to rescue any emails. When you have located the email: Look for this line: '''X-Mozilla-Status:''' (not X-Mozilla-Status2:) * Make sure the X-Mozilla-Status: has the number '''0001''' * Save the file. * delete the 'Inbox.msf' file. A new one will be auto created. * Restart Thunderbird. If this recovers any emails in Inbox where you altered that X-Mozilla-Status to 0001.