At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham urged the public to come forward with any information that might lead authorities to the location of missing 8-year-old Relisha Rudd. Police, along with volunteers, have been searching Kenilworth Park for Rudd since late last week.
Newsham said that the search of the park, the “best chance” to find Rudd “with the information we have”, is expected to conclude by Thursday.
On Monday, the man suspected of abducting Rudd, Kahlil Malik Tatum, was found dead in a storage shed from an apparent suicide.
Emphasizing that the search in Kenilworth Park was sparked by a tip, Newsham encouraged anyone with information to come forward. Newsham added that though the number of tips has dwindled, the investigation will continue beyond the park.
Below is a collection of reports from other media outlets.
“We came up here based upon a theory, and the theory was based on the information that we had available, information that we could confirm at the time,” said Newsham. “The theory was that potentially we would find Relisha in this area and that’s why we’re here … We’re really urging folks who think they might have information to pass that along to us and we’ll follow up on it.”
Reports the Washington Post:
Timothy A. Gallagher, special agent in charge of the criminal division of the FBI’s Washington field office, promised that authorities would continue looking for the girl. “We had children we recovered several years later,” he said. “We do not stop.”
Police said they went to the expansive grounds of the park looking for a “potential grave site” for Relisha, who went missing in February. Relisha was believed to be with a janitor at the District homeless shelter where she lived with her mother and three younger brothers. The girl’s mother had allowed Relisha to go with the janitor.
From the Washington City Paper:
The search for Relisha is still taking place outside the park and, as officials said yesterday, they believe she could still be alive.
“We are not getting as many leads as we have been, but we are still getting leads,” Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Police Chief Peter Newsham said at a press conference this afternoon at the park, urging anyone who has information to come forward.
