It wasn’t until March 19 that someone reported 8-year-old Relisha Rudd was missing, after officials realized she hadn’t been showing up to class.
The very next day Andrea Tatum, 51, was found beaten to death in a hotel room in Maryland, reported WUSA9.
Police and FBI are now looking for her husband, Khalil Tatum, who is believed to be her killer and the man who has taken Relisha.
Just last week Richmond Police said they spotted the pickup truck of the accused abductor in Richmond, but it’s unclear if Relisha or the person believed to have taken her are still in the area.
Relisha and her mother lived in a homeless shelter for months, and Tatum was a janitor at the shelter.
Surveillance video was just released from a Holiday Inn Express, located at 1917 Bladensburg Road N.E. In the Feb. 26 video, Tatum and Relisha Rudd walk down the hallway.
Rudd wears a pair of pink boots and a purple Helly Hansen brand jacket with white stripes.
The FBI has offered a $25,000 reward for information that leads to Relisha.
And Prince George’s County Police have offered a $25,000 for information that leads to Tatum.
Sources tell WUSA9 that Relisha’s mother, Shamika Young, told social workers different stories about her daughter’s whereabouts. In fact, the mother insisted that Relisha was fine, but allegedly The Children and Family Services Agency become so concerned about the little girl missing school for weeks, they finally went to police to ask them to start searching for her.
DC Mayor Vince Gray thinks the city did everything it could to protect Relisha.
“She had indicated that her daughter was sick, that that was why she wasn’t at school,” Mayor. “There isn’t a whole lot more you can do with that, unless you can substantiate something is amiss.”
WUSA9 reports that several mothers at the shelter have said Tatum acted inappropriately toward their young daughters.
Police and the FBI say no tip is too small as they hunt for the girl and they hope the now $50,000 reward will help them find her.
