The search for missing eight-year-old D.C. girl Relisha Rudd is still on after the truck police believed she was traveling in was found in Maryland.
Relisha was last seen at the D.C. General homeless shelter in Southeast on February 26. After that, according to media reports, the girl’s mother allowed shelter janitor Kahlil Malik Tatum to care for the girl. Sources told NBC4 Payne Elementary School filed a missing persons report because the girl hadn’t been in school for nearly a month: “Her mother, Shamika, refused to file a missing persons report. Instead, the report was signed by Child & Family Services.”
Yesterday, police found two vehicles they were looking for in a motel parking lot in Maryland. Inside, the body of a woman believed to be Tatum’s wife was found, the Post reports. A search for a white GMC truck led police to Hyattsville where the vehicle was found but the girl was not.
Police are looking for Relisha in the Richmond area. A Metropolitan Police Department public information officer said just before noon that they did not have an update to provide.
As the search continues, many questions remain about whether or not her disappearance could have been prevented.
At an unrelated event on crime in the Truxton Circle-Shaw area, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) told DCist he didn’t want to come to any conclusions until all the information was in.
“I’m extremely concerned and upset about this,” he said, adding that it seems like a case of a child “who fell through the cracks. There’s no reason for it yet. I need more information, but I’m furious.”