It's been 10 years since the disappearance of Relisha Rudd, who went missing from a Washington, D.C., homeless shelter where she lived with her family. She was just 8 years old.
D.C. police say Rudd’s case remains open, and the search continues.
Rudd was missing for more than two weeks before police were notified, as News4 reported.
The last confirmed sighting of Rudd was at a Northeast D.C. motel on March 1, 2014. She was captured on surveillance video with 51-year-old Khalil Tatum. But she had not been in school since mid-February, and D.C. police didn't learn of her disappearance until mid-March.
“Relisha Rudd wasn’t reported missing, and you know, the longer a child stays missing and is unreported, investigators don’t get working,” said Henderson Long of D.C.’s Missing Voice Inc.
Tatum was a custodian at what was then the D.C. General Shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Investigators learned that for weeks, Tatum had been permitted by Rudd’s mother to take the girl away, saying she would spend the night with him and his grandmother.
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That shelter closed in 2018, and a review of Rudd’s case led to two dozen policy changes on matters including background checks for shelter employees.
An investigation into a murder at a motel in Prince George's County, Maryland, led detectives to believe Tatum killed his wife in fear she'd tell police what he had been doing with the girl.
A search for ended when Tatum was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound April 1, 2014, at Kenilworth Park in Northeast.
Rudd would be 18 years old today.
Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a photo of what Rudd may look like as a teen.
D.C. police hosted a community event from 6 to 7 p.m. on New York Ave and Bladensburg Road Northeast where volunteers handed out missing person fliers to the public that could hopefully help locate Rudd.
“We’re still out here for closure, and just, she still hasn’t been found,” radio show host Phocuz Phill said. “And very little information.”
D.C. police say they will never give up the search for Rudd.
In a statement to News4, D.C. police said they continue to pursue every lead regarding her disappearance. Here’s the full statement:
Relisha Rudd's case remains open, and the officers and detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department will never give up the search for her. We continue to solicit information from the public regarding her disappearance.
Since Relisha went missing ten years ago, MPD has received thousands of tips regarding her case, and we are encouraged by the public's commitment to finding her. We will continue to pursue every lead until our investigators, Relisha's family, and the community have answers about her disappearance.
For more information on current missing persons, please visit missing.dc.gov. We would like to remind the community that there is no minimum time requirement that a person must be missing before a missing person report can be filed.
Anyone with information on Rudd is urged to contact D.C. police at 202-265-9100 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
