In March 2014, 8-year-old Relisha Rudd vanished while living with her family at a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C. What began as a routine school attendance concern quickly unraveled into a devastating missing-child investigation involving conflicting family accounts, institutional failures, and a shelter employee who was not who he claimed to be.
In this episode, we walk through the confirmed timeline of Relisha’s disappearance — from the last verified sightings, to surveillance footage, police findings, and the disturbing discoveries that followed. We separate what is documented and verified from what remains disputed, and examine how Relisha slipped through the cracks of multiple systems meant to protect her.
Relisha Rudd has never been found.
If you have any information, please review her official missing persons poster and contact authorities.🔗 Relisha Rudd – National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
📞 Tip lines:
- Metropolitan Police Department (D.C.): 202-265-9100
- NCMEC: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
- FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI
Links:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Relisha_Rudd
- https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/relisha-tenau-rudd
- https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2024/remembering-relisha-rudd-10-years-missing
- https://people.com/relisha-rudd-vanished-eleven-years-ago-homeless-shelter-janitor-11840240
- https://wamu.org/story/21/01/28/timeline-what-happened-to-relisha-rudd/
- https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/relisha-rudd-disappearance/
- https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1229904/1
- https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/RR%20Report%20FINAL%209%202%2014_Redacted.pdf
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2014/12/22/a-lost-mother-and-daughter/
- FBI releases video in missing girl case
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/relisha-rudds-difficult-past-comes-into-focus/2014/03/26/12500c6e-b43e-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html?nonce=f546c67208b74795b678a9ed9e1ad8d7&utm_source=email&utm_medium=ret-transactional-email&utm_campaign=magic-link-failed-login&utm_email=
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/after-relisha-rudds-disappearance-who-should-care-for-her-three-younger-brothers/2014/05/14/87778a78-d615-11e3-95d3-3bcd77cd4e11_story.html
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/before-relisha-rudd-went-missing-the-8-year-old-longed-to-escape-dcs-homeless-shelter/2014/04/05/e21a020a-bc19-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html
- Andrea Tatum’s murder remains as much a mystery as Relisha Rudd’s disappearance
- Social worker’s nightmare: The day he discovered Relisha Rudd was missing
- Janitor, Doctor, Godfather…Who Was Kahlil Tatum?
- https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/washingtondc/press-releases/2014/kahlil-tatum-found-dead
- At age 8, Relisha vanished. A decade later, she haunts a changed city.
- D.C. shelter residents say janitor sought in girl’s disappearance gave gifts to children
- Relisha Rudd’s brothers to remain in foster care for now, court rules
- Six Years On, Family of Relisha Rudd Still Has Many Unanswered Questions About 8-Year-Old’s Disappearance
Watch:
- Where is Relisha Rudd? – Peacock
- Youtube: The Vanishing of Relisha Rudd: A Cold Case Reexamined — Part One
- Youtube: The Vanishing of Relisha Rudd: A Cold Case Reexamined — Part Two
- Youtube: Relisha Rudd siblings speak