Local and federal authorities continue to search for a missing 2-year-old Michigan girl, days after a man suspected of her disappearance was arrested on other charges.
Wynter Cole-Smith was reported missing Sunday at 11:30 p.m. after her mother was physically assaulted by an ex-boyfriend in her apartment. according to the fbi. He fled the apartment to get help and call authorities, but Wynter was not there when officers arrived at the apartment.
Wynter’s mother, who was not identified, had multiple stab wounds and has since been released from the hospital, according to the Lansing Police Department.
Wynter’s brother, who was also in the apartment, was uninjured, the FBI said.
The ex-boyfriend, Rashad Maleek Trice, allegedly stole a white 2013 Chevrolet Impala, which he later crashed 90 miles away.
Trice was taken into custody after the crash and was being guarded by officers at a hospital, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said at a news conference Tuesday.
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to Wynter’s location. In an effort to get leads from civilians, police have also released the route they say Trice may have taken with Wynter. from Lansing to St. Clair Shores, where he was arrested.
“We have searched the incident area using door-to-door canvases, canine searches, drones, multiple helicopter searches with heat signature technology, and our scuba team, which is our scuba team, in the area with no success so far. “. Sosebee said Tuesday.
Trice, 26, has been charged with assault with intent to murder, trespassing in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, second offense aggravated domestic violence, unlawful driving of a motor vehicle, criminal battery, and two counts of first criminal sexual assault. degree.
He is being held without bail following an arraignment Wednesday, according to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office. Court records were not immediately available to Trice and it is not clear if he has retained an attorney.
Sosebee said police spoke to Trice’s “known associates” and threatened to press charges against anyone who actively concealed knowledge of Wynter’s whereabouts.
Trice is not Wynter’s biological father, Detroit’s NBC affiliate WDIV reported, citing authorities.
Sharen Eddings, Wynter’s grandmother, told the station he had heard that Wynter’s mother fought back.
“When he stabbed her, from what I understand from her sister, she was able to stab him again, well, she hurt him,” Eddings said. “That’s when she grabbed Wynter and threatened to hurt him, and that’s when she left.”
Eddings hopes his granddaughter is safe.
“I went through something that I had never felt before,” Eddings said. “I have lost people. I grew up in Detroit. I’ve seen some things, but I’ve never had a child in danger. And so it was, I can’t even explain it. My bones trembled.”
