Relisha Rudd, age 8, missing since March 1, 2014 from a Washington D.C. homeless shelter.
Relisha Rudd, age 8, has been missing since February 26, 2014, from Washington, D.C. The strange circumstances regarding her disappearance prompted a nationwide search during 2014 only creating more mystery.
Rudd was last seen at D.C. General Family Shelter, a homeless shelter in southeast Washington.
The official search for Rudd began on March 19, 2014. Six days before, a counselor from Payne Elementary School had alerted D.C. Child and Family Services (DCFS) that Rudd had been absent several days from school and they were concerned about educational neglect. Officials told the counselor Rudd was sick and had been excused and released to a “Dr. Tatum.”
The story did not sit well with the counselor, so the individual tried to arrange a meeting with Dr. Tatum at the shelter. The doctor did not show. The counselor then found out Dr. Tatum was not really a doctor; however, Kahlil Malik Tatum, 51, employed as a janitor at D.C. General Family Shelter who had clocked out early the same day.
Authorities were called and the search for Rudd began March 19, 2014, weeks after Rudd had last been seen.
Washington Metro Police searching Kenilworth Park in D.C. on March 31, 2014. Courtesy NY Daily News
Rudd’s stepfather, Antonio Wheeler, told the “Wilkos Show” relatives believed she was going to a pool party with Tatum’s granddaughter.The Family’s Story
Shamika Young, Rudd’s mother, told the host of Wilkos she was under the impression her daughter was at her sister’s house with her mother Melissa Young, which is why it took so long to report her missing. She went on to say she had no phone and no way to communicate with her mother.
On the show, Wilkos asks Wheeler what he believes about Young’s story and he responded, “I believe she has something to do with it and also her mother too.”
Antonio Wheeler
However, the rumors have also engulfed Wheeler. A far cry from the life as a homeless family, Wheeler posted social media pictures displaying wads of cash in his mouth, along with brand new sneakers and a new cell phone. All around the time Rudd went missing.
For nearly two years, the second-grader had been living in the homeless shelter at former D.C. General hospital. A barely livable place infested with bed bugs and no playground for children.
Friends and family of Rudd also claim Wheeler and Young often let her spend time with Tatum.Relatives say Rudd slept with a teddy bear named “Baby” and would often fake asthma attacks to avoid going home. Others close to her at school say she would arrive in dirty clothes, unkempt hair and always hungry. They said she never wanted to go home.
Rudd called Tatum her “godfather” and he spent much time establishing her trust. Belinda Wheeler, paternal grandmother of Rudd, described Tatum as someone who brought a lot of gifts to Rudd. He was considered a friend of the family even though the family did not know Tatum prior to moving into the homeless shelter.
This had not been the first time Rudd was excused from school in the care of Dr. Tatum. On March 13, 2014, a school counselor wrote a referral to DCFS indicating Rudd had more than 30 days of excused absences by her mother Shamika Young.
A Washington Post article, “Timeline: Disappearance of Relisha Rudd,” indicates Young has had a history with numerous reports made to social workers. One report indicates Rudd and her siblings were found in a filthy home, littered with trash, cigarette butts and ashes. Another report to DCFS indicates evidence of “medical neglect” while another says the children were left alone and told to bathe without supervision. Incidents of lack of food and suspicion Rudd may have been physically abused.
A tough life for such a young child.
Known Facts
At approximately 10 pm on March 19th, Tatum checks into room 132 at the Red Roof Inn in Oxon Hill, MD and seen with four unknown individuals. Less than an hour later, three people leave the room.
At approximately 5:40 am on March 20th, one male individual returns to the room where police do not permit him to enter. He tells police he had helped Tatum do searches on the Internet for a handgun and downloaded the images on an Apple iPad.
At approximately 8 am, DC police contact Prince George’s County Police to request assistance and inform them Tatum may be driving a maroon 2007 Chevrolet Trail Blazer with a Washington Red Skins decal on the back window. The vehicle was seen parked outside of room 132 at the hotel.Police gain entry to the hotel room and find the body of Tatum’s wife Andrea Denise Tatum, lying face down on a bed, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
Police find Andrea Tatum deceased inside Room 132 at the Red Roof Inn. Photo courtesy Washington Post/Lynh Bui.
Next, Police put out a “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) signal for a second vehicle, a white GMC truck. They later find said truck abandoned in Hyattsville, an urban city close to Washington D.C.
Tatum is charged with the murder of his wife and a warrant is issued for his arrest.
March 24th police release a new photo of Tatum and additional photos of Rudd.
Photo of Kahlil Tatum, AKA “Dr. Tatum”
The following day, March 25th, the FBI releases video of Tatum and Rudd at the Holiday Inn located in northeast Washington, D.C. They offer a $25,000 reward for Rudd’s safe return. Prince George’s County police offer an additional $25,000 leading to the arrest of Tatum.
Tatum caught on surveillance video leading Rudd into a hotel room in Maryland.
D.C. police chief, Cathy Lanier, said there are no confirmed sightings of Tatum and Rudd after March 1, 2014, and the FBI has not released the video of Rudd leaving the hotel where she was last seen with Tatum, citing an ongoing investigation. To generate leads for the case, the FBI released surveillance video showing Tatum leading Rudd into a room at a Holiday Inn Express in northeast D.C. on February 26, 2014.
On March 31st, a tip leads police to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in northeast Washington to search for the possible grave-site of Rudd. Instead, police found Tatum inside a shed dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His eyeglasses and gun were found next to him. They estimate his body had been there for at least 36-hours.
Police spent the next six days searching the 700-acre park for any sign on Rudd; however, none was found.
Authorities say Tatum bought 42-gallon trash bags on March 2nd and was seen at Kenilworth Park the same day.
Representatives from the Black and Missing Foundation based in Maryland, helped police conduct the search of the park. Derrick Butler, a volunteer with the organization said volunteers were told to look for anything that could belong to a child, including clothing, a shoe, toys – anything looking unusual. Nothing was found.
It is unclear whether police have enough information to confirm Rudd is deceased; however, the missing child investigation continues to remain active. Many others theorize Wheeler and Young may have sold Rudd to Tatum. It is unclear who the other individuals were seen at the hotel in Maryland and what Tatum had planned.
Based upon a tip, police launched a new search for Rudd January 2018. They focused on Anacostia Park near a boat ramp just north of Pennsylvania Avenue in southeast Washington. Police said their search included sonar, divers, boats, and cadaver dogs searching for any evidence related to the case. The site is across the river from the shelter and approximately 4 miles south of where Tatum’s body was found at Kenilworth Park.
Railroad bridge that crosses the Anacostia River across from shelter searched by police recovery teams January 2018. Photo courtesy of Washington’s Top News.
Other searches have included a 15-acre construction site on New York Avenue in December 2015 and the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington in April 2016.
Thomas Lauth of Lauth Investigations International has worked on missing person and unsolved homicide cases for over twenty years. He has found several victims of sex trafficking alive over the years. “We all can agree on one thing, the world is a very dangerous place for children,” Lauth said. “We must do more to combat human trafficking in order to protect our kids.”Other searches have included a 15-acre construction site on New York Avenue in December 2015 and the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington in April 2016.
Human and Sex Trafficking in the United States
According to the Black and Missing Foundation, the statistics maintained by the FBI National Crime Information Center conclude nearly 250,000 minorities were reported in 2016.
Hubs of human trafficking are located in Georgia, Illinois, Texas, and Maryland. Despite the common belief most human trafficking victims are immigrants, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime, most children kidnapped are U.S. citizens sold into the sex trade.
As defined by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), child sex trafficking is defined as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor with the purpose to commercial a sex act.
Offenders are commonly referred to as traffickers, or pimps, who target vulnerable children and gain control using attention, friendship, love, gifts, and a place to stay. Once a relationship is cultivated, traffickers then engage them in prostitution with the use of emotional, physical and psychological abuse including drugs, to maintain control over them.
Traffickers will alter the appearance of the child, isolate them and move them frequently to condition the children to remain loyal.
“No child is immune to becoming a victim of child sex trafficking,” says Lauth. “In addition, technological advances, the use of the Internet and cellular devices, has provided a convenient worldwide marketing platform for traffickers. They now use websites and social media to advertise and even sell victims, posing a challenge to law enforcement.”
Victims can range from 1-year old to 18-years old, most often started in the trade at approximately age 14.
Human trafficking is an annual $32 billion industry, surpassing the illegal sales of arms and expected to surpass the illegal sale of drugs in the next few years.
“Human trafficking is a hidden crime,” says Lauth. “The investigations are quite complex. It is critical for the public to report suspicious activity. We all need to work together to protect our children.”
A teen from Mississippi escaped from the Harrison County Youth Detention Center on July 31, 1973 at the age of 17 according to Associated Press. The young man, Joseph Spears, was never seen or heard from again by his family. A month later, an unidentified teenager was killed in Texas City, Texas while trying to cross a freeway on August 23, 1973. The community of Texas City raised money to give the unidentified teenager a funeral and grave.
Cemetery worker, Chelsea Davidson, began to search for the young man’s family. Chelsea Davidson is an employee of
Hayes Grace Memorial Park in Hitchcock, Texas, which led her to look into the young man’s background in hopes of finding his identity and loved ones. Decades later, Davidson found Joseph Spears’ information on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which led authorities to exhume the unidentified teenager’s body. Joseph’s mother, Mary Raskin, positively identified the body through photographs.
David Riddick, 1994.
Maryland police officials found a deceased male in 1994 with no identification and severe injuries to his face complicating positive identification. In 2008, Carla Tippie Proudfoot, the Director of the Maryland Missing Persons Clearinghouse, was helping the Maryland state medical examiner’s office load cold cases into the NamUs database and entered the information regarding the unidentified male with a forensic artist’s sketch of the man’s believed appearance. Later that year, a new image of the unidentified man’s appearance was uploaded to the NamUs profile. A local newspaper published a story about the unidentified man’s case with the inclusion of the new photo. Two weeks later, a woman came forward claiming that the unidentified man in the paper is her missing nephew, David Riddick. Authorities later confirmed the man’s identity and his body was finally sent home. Mr. Riddick’s family was able to bury their loved one after fourteen years.
The Importance and Effectiveness of NamUs
According to the National Institute of Justice, NamUs has helped government agencies to solved missing persons cases all across the country. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System helped to improve upon the local and statewide websites dedicated to providing information on missing persons. “Before NamUS”, as Mike Murphy points out, “it was more of a haphazard, disjointed, localized effort.” Mr. Murphy works for the Clark County Coroner’s Office in Nevada.
There was often incomplete data or information, or the search for information could lead one through dozens of different websites and databases before providing the needed information. According to a report by Beth Pearsall and Danielle Weiss, there are estimated 4,400 unidentified persons cases each year. NamUs helps provide necessary information to officials involved in solving missing persons cases.
NamUs is under the control of the United States Department of State with a budget of $3.5 million. The organization works with local and national law enforcement, non-profit organizations and medical examiners. NamUs employs a wide range of experts involved in solving missing persons cases including dad analysts, fingerprint experts and forensic dentists to help identify the unidentified. Since the debut of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, over 700 missing persons cases have been solved. Unfortunately while these cases are finally being solved, most of the missing persons are found to be deceased, very few are found alive.
How You Can Help
NamUs provides information about how average citizens can help find missing persons through the database, “NamUs is only as strong as the cases within it and those who use it.” NamUs urges anyone who believes they have information regarding a missing or unidentified person to report the information to local law enforcement immediately. The organization emphasizes that individuals should not put themselves in potentially dangerous situations and to leave the investigations to law enforcement or the appropriate authorities.
Other ways to help:
Visit NamUs’s news room for media updates
Reach out to local officials to raise awareness of NamUs and make sure they are using the NamUs database
Urge your state’s medical examiner or coroner to enter all the unidentified remains from your area into NamUs
Kimberly Ching Sullivan and her daughter, Kira Gusman, went missing after making a trip to the grocery store in Burlington, North Carolina. The pair never returned to their car. They were reported missing at 3:30am last Saturday morning by Kimberly’s wife Sherri Sullivan. Police have stated that they do not believe foul play was involved; the pair is believed to be together and not in danger. The police have given no further updates about the mother and daughter’s whereabouts.
Parental Abductions:
Stranger abductions make up the smallest portion of all reported abductions. The majority of child disappearances fall under the category of parental abductions or family kidnapping. A major study found that 203,900 kids were victims of a family abduction and only 28 percent of these abductions were reported to police. 44 percent of child abducted by a family member were under 6 years old. The report found a disparity in who participates in parental child abductions; 53 percent of family abducted children were abducted by their biological father, while only 25 percent of these children were taken by their biological mother.
Tracy Morse, the co-founder of American Parental Abductions Resource and Support Organization (APART), has previously stated, “There’s a perception in the public and among law enforcement, that when children are abducted by their parents that they’re safe, and that just isn’t true”. Parental abductions are a large problem when the statistics are taken into account; the FBI has conducted an analysis of all the child abduction cases where the motivation was known and found that parental abductions have increased from 9 percent in 2010 to 50 percent in 2012. Moreover, family abductions are generally thought of as a subcategory of disappearances and not given individual attention.
Characteristics of family abducted children:
Younger children appear to be particularly vulnerable
Older teenagers account for a small percentage of victims of family abductions
Reasons parents abduct their children:
To force reconciliation or interaction with the other parent
To punish the other parent
Out of fear of losing custody or visitation rights
Families are more at risk for parental child abductions if a parent:
Previously abducted your child
Threatened to abduct your child
Does not have strong ties to the area in which your child lives
Has friends or family members that live in another state or country
Has a history of domestic violence or child abuse
Feels alienated from the legal system
Does not have a stable job or is not financially tied to any area
Preventing Parental Child Abductions
There are simple steps parents and family members can take to decrease the risk of abduction, such as taking pictures of your child, keeping a record of your child’s SSN, seeking counseling, and notifying daycares and schools about who is allowed to pick up your child. There are greater steps parents can take to try to prevent abductions, such as obtaining custody orders that define custody and visitation rights, asking law enforcement and the appropriate authorities to step in, or flagging passport applications for your child in order to prevent the other parent from taking your child out of the country.
Preventing abductions is important because just as stranger abductions can be extremely dangerous, so can parental child abductions. The FBI listed several parental abduction cases that turned violent.
One case involved a mother without custodial rights abducting her 8-month-old son from his father. She lied and told the boy’s father that she killed the 8-month-old boy in order to prevent the father from using his custodial rights and to punish the father for being involved with another woman.
In 2012, a non-custodial father killed his seven and five year old children after he abducted them. He was allegedly angry over not being afforded sole custody of his children. An FBI analyst in the Violent Crimes Against Children Intelligence Unit has stated “In contrast to international parental child abductions, our analysis indicates that domestic custodial abductions are more likely to have violent outcomes for children”. Even though family abduction victims are perceived to be in less danger than stranger abduction victims that is not always the case and families should always report abductions to law enforcement.
Jordan Krolak and Casey Louise Danielson are both 17 years old, and both have disappeared. The girls were last seen on June 5th, almost three weeks ago. Jordan, according to her family, has had a history of running away. However, this time Jordan has been gone far longer than usual. Authorities have speculated that the two girls ran away together while working at a community event. The police department in Bemidji, Minnesota has few leads in where the girls could have gone. The surrounding counties’ police departments have been assisting with the investigation. The family has voiced fears about human trafficking; Jordan’s aunt voiced her concerns by stating, “Well, there are so many scary things out there, and with trafficking such a high risk now, it is terrifying.” Some have speculated that while the girls possibly left of their own volition, they may no longer have control of their situation.
Risks Faced By Runaway Youth
The National Runaway Safeline between 1.6 million to 2.8 million youth runaway each year in the United States alone. At least 70 percent of runaway youth are endangered on the street; younger runaways are particularly at risk for exploitation. According to several studies, one in seven youth aged 10 to 18 will run away at some point and 75 percent of runaways are female. Youth aged 12 to 17 are more at risk for homelessness than adults.
Homeless and runaway youth are at higher risk for:
− Physical abuse
− Sexual exploitation
− Mental health disabilities
− Substance abuse
− Death
Health risks associated with living on the street:
− Greater possibility of severe anxiety
− More likely to experience severe depression
− Higher rates of suicide
Reasons children run away:
− Conflict between them and a parent or guardian in the home (47%)
− Parents told them to leave or didn’t care they were leaving (>50%)
− Runaway youth reported having been sexual abuse before leaving home (34%)
− Runaway youth reported physical abuse before leaving home (43%)
Runaways and Law Enforcement
The media typically follows missing children stories closely when the child has been abducted because they are perceived as being in grave danger. However, when children go missing and are suspected of running away the media pays little attention. According to Polly Klaas Foundation, 90 percent of the children abducted by strangers are returned home safely, while runaway youth are often forgotten about by law enforcement. Typically, runaway youth are viewed as a family problem rather than a larger societal concern. Foundations such as the National Runaway Safeline and Polly Klaas Foundation want people to understand that runaway children are in danger. The law enforcement needs to take runaway youth cases more seriously in order to protect at risk youth from becoming victims of abduction, physical or emotional abuse, sexual exploitation, or human trafficking.
Find more information at: ncsl.org
Things to Keep in Mind
While a child or young adult has chosen to leave, they may not be choosing to stay away. Even if you suspect your loved one has run away still contact your local police department. Children on the street are at higher risk of exploitation and abuse. Legally police department have to begin to investigate missing children immediately.
According to the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as of May 1, 2012, there are 47,673 active missing adult cases in the United States. Many of these cases date back decades.
Madeline Anna Babcock was 35 years old when she vanished from Venice, CA. The beautiful young woman who went by the nickname Lynn, had been employed as a barmaid at Fred’s Tavern and worked a second job on an assembly line at a local factory, in Santa Monica.
According to Patricia Foy, Madeline’s sister, the last time anyone heard from Madeline was the afternoon of June 11, 1968 at approximately 4:00pm when she called her mother from a payphone in Venice. She told her mother that she planned to have a friend drive her to her mother’s home the following day, approximately 20 miles away; she never arrived.
In July, Madeline’s mother and sister travelled to Venice in search of her, and they were told by the owner of the tavern that Madeline had not reported to work the first week of July. Madeline’s property owner at her apartment on Flower Street permitted her mother and sister entry into her apartment, where they found all of her personal belongings were gone. It appeared she had moved out, though the property owner had not been aware of any activity at the residence. The identity of Madeline’s friend who she indicated was going to drive her to her mother’s home was never identified. Foy and her mother proceeded to attempt to make a missing person report with Venice Police Department, but they were told by police that Madeline probably left willingly; her family disagrees.
In 1968, law enforcement’s handling of missing person cases was very different than it is today. The FBI’s NCIC system did not exist and families were lucky to get police to accept a missing person report. Currently, Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the case, but leads have grown cold in the years following. She would be almost 80 years old today.
In 2007 a person came forward and said they may have possible information that Madeline had been located, but unable to speak for herself. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS), Madeline was born with hydrocephalus, an often disability condition that can cause swelling of the brain. Madeline’s mother has since passed away but Foy provided a DNA sample to cross-reference with the DNA from the unidentified woman but it was not a match.
Often long-term missing person cases fall through the cracks and sadly, decades can pass without resolution for surviving family members. Many families have turned to private investigators for help. With any cold case, private investigators focus on reviving leads by interviewing individuals who knew the missing person at the time of their disappearance, former coworkers, friends, and family. Working cooperatively with law enforcement, private investigators bring with them a new set of eyes to review details of the case and the ability to spark the interest of media providing exposure necessary to potentially generate new leads. Advocates caution families to check the work history of any private investigator they plan to hire to avoid becoming victims of financial and emotional exploitation, but also agree hiring a private investigator may be their only hope to find the fate of their missing loved one.
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder, National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
Shamika Young, Rudd’s mother, told the host of Wilkos she was under the impression her daughter was at her sister’s house with her mother Melissa Young, which is why it took so long to report her missing. She went on to say she had no phone and no way to communicate with her mother.
according to Associated Press. The young man, Joseph Spears, was never seen or heard from again by his family. A month later, an unidentified teenager was killed in Texas City, Texas while trying to cross a freeway on August 23, 1973. The community of Texas City raised money to give the unidentified teenager a funeral and grave.
SSN, seeking counseling, and notifying daycares and schools about who is allowed to pick up your child. There are greater steps parents can take to try to prevent abductions, such as obtaining custody orders that define custody and visitation rights, asking law enforcement and the appropriate authorities to step in, or flagging passport applications for your child in order to prevent the other parent from taking your child out of the country.
