On the morning of March 1, 2014, eight-year-old Relisha Tenau Rudd vanished from the sprawling D.C. General Family Shelter in Southeast Washington, D.C., setting off one of the most wrenching missing-child cases in the nation’s capital. Over the next days and weeks, her disappearance exposed systemic failures in the city’s homeless services, child-welfare reporting, and school attendance oversight. Despite widespread media attention, community vigils, and an active FBI investigation, Relisha’s fate remains unknown more than a decade later. This article examines her life, the circumstances of her disappearance, the subsequent investigation, and the lasting changes her case prompted.
Early Life and Family Circumstances
Born October 29, 2005, Relisha Rudd was one of four children in a family struggling to overcome poverty and instability. Her mother, Shamika Young, moved into the D.C. General Family Shelter with Relisha and her three younger brothers in late…..