Officials say the search for 8-year-old Relisha Rudd at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens is in its final stretch today, and that they still haven’t found any clues in the 700-acre park that could bring them closer to finding the missing girl.
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.
While the fact that they haven’t found Relisha’s body in the park means she could still be alive, Newsham didn’t sound too optimistic about the search. “We only know what we know and that’s what led us here,” he said. “With the information that we have to this point in the investigation, this was our best chance.”
On Monday, police found the dead body of Kahlil Tatum—the man last seen with Relisha—at the park. Officials confirmed that he died of an apparent suicide and had been dead for at least 36 hours by they found his body.
Tatum worked as a janitor at the homeless shelter where Relisha lives with her mother. Relisha was last seen on March 1 with Tatum, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Thursday. On March 2, police say, Tatum purchased large trash bags and was spotted at Kenilworth soon after. On March 20, the dead body of Tatum’s wife was found in a hotel room in Oxon Hill during the search for Relisha.
Photo via FBI