Search continues for D.C. girl missing 2 years
WASHINGTON — Police in the nation's capital started a new search Wednesday for an 8-year-old girl who has been missing for more than two years.
Relisha Rudd was last seen in March 2014 with a man who was a janitor at the homeless shelter where she and her family were staying. Relisha's mother had asked Kahlil Tatum to watch her daughter.
After Relisha was reported missing, the body of Tatum's wife was found in a motel and Tatum was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a park about a month later.
Timeline: The search for 8-year-old Relisha Rudd
On Wednesday, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said a tip prompted them to search the U.S. National Arboretum, including a body of water, in Washington.
Lanier would not go into specifics, but she said new information coming out, even 25 months after Relisha's disappearance, isn't unusual.
"It's not uncommon for people to provide information that they've had for long periods of time that they didn't provide initially," said Lanier.
Lanier said police would be searching a "pretty extensive area" of the Arboretum in northeast Washington over the next two days.
Police confirm body is missing girl's alleged abductor
A team of about 60 people, including police dogs, divers, D.C. Police and representatives with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, are assisting in the search.
Since Relisha's disappearance, police have searched throughout the city, including at a construction site in December. That site is less than a half-mile away from their last search location.
Relisha's family was not at the Arboretum for the search, but they are hoping for good news, her grandmother said. She is hoping that crews will find her granddaughter and bring her home.
Relisha's disappearance was brought to the attention of police in mid-March 2014 when D.C. Public Schools officials realized the 8-year-old had not been in class since late February 2014.
Contributing: Delia Gonçalves and Susan Phillips, WUSA-TV, Washington; The Associated Press. Follow Nikki Burdine on Twitter: @NikkiBurdine
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