7-years later in DC - Relisha Rudd is still missing...

Relisha Rudd is still missing, and police are still looking for her.

It has been seven years since the then 8-year-old Relisha Rudd went missing from a D.C. homeless shelter.

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Author: Kolbie Satterfield (WUSA 9)

WASHINGTON — July 11 is designated as Relisha Rudd Awareness Day.

The then 8-year-old girl went missing seven years ago on March 1, 2014, but wasn’t reported missing until 18 days later on March 19, 2014.

Relisha disappeared from a homeless shelter her family was staying at in Northeast D.C.

The young girl was last seen on surveillance video at a hotel with Kahlil Tatum, a 51-year-old janitor at D.C. General Family Shelter, the shelter her family was staying at.

Tatum’s wife was murdered in an Oxon Hill motel shortly after Relisha was reported missing.

RELATED: Relisha Rudd suspect Kahlil Tatum's Divorce papers

On April 1, 2014, Tatum was found dead at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, according to D.C. Police. It was later discovered that Tatum killed himself before he could be questioned by police. There was no sign of Relisha.

"We kind of failed Relisha Rudd on so many different levels, so many different people, from the community, from family, from government, law enforcement,” Henderson Long, a missing person’s advocate and CEO of D.C.’s Missing Voice said.

Credit: National Association of Missing and Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children along with the DC Metropolitan Police Department released a new age progression for Relisha Rudd.

“Always keep hope, never give up, never stop searching,” Long said. “My main message today (July 11) is that so anybody who knows anything, even if it’s the least little thing about the disappearance or the whereabouts of Relsiha Rudd to dial into MPD.”

If you know anything about Relisha’s disappearance or whereabouts, call 202-727-9099.

There is a $50,000 reward for information.

for information.

'We will not stop until we find Dulce,' FBI says of NJ girl Dulce Alavez, missing for one year

By: Corey Crockett , PIX11 Web Team

BRIDGETON, NJ. — It's been a year since a frantic mother called 911 and told police her then 5-year-old daughter had disappeared from a New Jersey park, but FBI investigators have not given up their search.

In a message to community members, the FBI told PIX11 their investigation remains active and stressed that anyone who may have been in the area at the time of Dulce Maria Alavez’s disappearance can and should come forward without fears related to their immigration status.

Alavez was last seen Sept. 16, 2019 during a family outing to Bridgeton City Park in Cumberland County.

The girl disappeared while playing with her 3-year-old brother as their mother, Noema Alavez Perez, sat in her car with an 8-year-old relative. Alavez's brother ran to the car crying and pointed to the area where he last saw his sister.
A tearful Alavez Perez called 911 to report what she feared was an abduction.
An Amber Alert was issued on Sept. 17, 2019.

Last year, the New Jersey Attorney General said he feared immigration enforcement was hindering community members from coming forward to help with the investigation.

“There are pockets of the immigrant population in Bridgeton that may have information but are just afraid to come forward because of over-aggressive immigration enforcement by ICE,” said AG Gurbir Grewil.

The FBI said Alavez’s family continues to cooperate with authorities, and that the bureau is working with state and local authorities in their search.

An August media report said Alavez was likely the victim of a crime of opportunity.

A lead investigator in the FBI’s case told NJ Advance Media they believe the child was likely abducted from the park. However, she may not have been targeted prior to arriving at the park that day.

Investigators said earlier in the case the girl may have been taken by a man who led her to a red van.

A composite sketch of a man who Cumberland County prosecutor’s office officials said was seen in the park around the time Alavez went missing was released in October of 2019. At the time, officials described the man as a potential witness.

Police have not identified any suspects in the case.

Alavez was last seen wearing a yellow shirt with a koala bear on the front, black and white checkered pants with a flower design, and white sandals, police said. She was 3 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed 40 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Bridgeton Police have pursued several leads as well as unsubstantiated tips in the case, including one that led investigators to Austintown, Ohio. Law enforcement conducted a search in the town but nothing was found, according to Chief Michael Gaimari.

"The department has received erroneous information from less-than-credible sources during the course of this investigation that has resulted in manpower being redirected in their efforts," Gaimari wrote in a Facebook post on March 1. "This type of activity hinders investigator’s efforts in locating Dulce and determining the circumstances surrounding her disappearance."

Those with information that could assist in the investigation are still urged to contact the Bridgeton Police Department at 856-451-0033 or utilize the department’s anonymous TIP411 text line, subtext “Bridgeton.”

Still no sign of missing Bridgeton girl months after her abduction

DAVID MADDEN

JANUARY 16, 2020 - 1:18 PM

Andrew Kramer/KYW Newsradio; inset: FBI

CATEGORIES: 

New Jersey

Related:

• Officials release sketch of man who may know details of Dulce Alavez's whereabouts
• FBI expert: Fear from immigrant community may hinder search for missing Bridgeton girl

NORTHFIELD, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — It's been four months since a 5-year-old girl was abducted from a Bridgeton park. The search continues as the FBI chimes in publicly for the first time about their role in the investigation.

The national Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) unit was dispatched from Quantico as soon as Bridgeton police called, some 24 hours after Dulce Alavez vanished. Agents insist they’d always want to be called in sooner rather than later.

That said, Atlantic City-based Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie says they’re still following leads and combing enough video to fill the Library of Congress several times over.

"The family should keep up hope. We do," Ehrie said. "We want a recovery of that child and any missing child. So the community and the family should not give up hope."

Nor should they worry about talking to the feds, even though many may fear exposing their immigration status.

It’s safe to say agents have expanded the scope of the probe across the country and into Alavez's biological father’s home in Mexico, given the way these cases go at this point in time.

"It’s been four months, but that’s not to say that law enforcement and investigative agencies aren’t thoroughly working this case," said CARD unit national supervisor Christina Bedford. "A lot of things are happening behind the scenes. We just ask that the community be patient with us and come forward with any relevant information to help us work this case."

There’s history of victims being found alive months, even years after they’re abducted. How busy are investigators? They’re in touch with local law enforcement daily, and still following leads, their most important clue a composite sketch of a man seen leaving the park with the child.

Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office