Michigan police, along with federal authorities, continue to search for 2-year-old Wynter Smith, reportedly abducted by her mother’s ex-boyfriend.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, at around 5:50 a.m. Monday morning, police arrested Rashad Trice, 26, in St. Clair Shores, in connection with the kidnapping. He fled the southeast Lansing area on July 2 but police caught up with him the following day and pulled him over in a white 2013 Chevrolet Impala.
Wynter was not with Trice and he has reportedly refused to cooperate with investigators.
THE FBI is now offering a $25,000 reward to anyone who leads them to the child’s whereabouts. On Tuesday, they released a map image that shows the route Trice drove before his arrest.
UPDATE on missing two-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith: #FBI Detroit and the @LansingPolice are releasing two maps detailing Rashad Trice's approximate route on Monday morning, July 3. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the location of Wynter. pic.twitter.com/L0lECyk2QA
— FBI Detroit (@FBIDetroit) July 4, 2023
Trice is believed to have driven on the freeway from Lansing, starting at 11:20 p.m. on July 2. He then reportedly arrived in metro Detroit after midnight and then reached Detroit itself at around 1:10 a.m. He is believed to have departed from Detroit around 2:40 a.m. and moved around the east side until authorities arrested him in St. Clair Shores.
Authorities urge Southeast Michigan residents and business owners located along Trice’s suspected route to check their doorbell or security camera recordings from the overnight period of July 2 to July 3. Police are also looking for movements, stops, or parking locations of the white Chevy Impala during the aforementioned hours.
Wynter’s grandmother, Sharen Eddings, told ClickonDetroit that the suspect is the ex-boyfriend of Wynter’s mother. Eddings added that Trice stabbed the child’s mother before kidnapping the tot.
Lansing police confirmed that they were called to a home off Beau Jardin Drive, where they found a 22-year-old woman with stab wounds and “signs of assault,” the Lansing State Journal reports.
“When he stabbed her, from what I understand from her sister, she was able to stab him back right, wound him back,” Eddings said. “That’s when he grabbed Wynter and threatened to harm her, and that’s when he left.”
Wynter is described as a Black female with braided, shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing a white shirt with rainbows on it.
Anyone with information on Wynter’s whereabouts can submit tips to http://tips.fbi.gov or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also contact Lansing police at 517-483-4600 or CrimeStoppers at 517-483-7867.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
