Police searching for a missing 8-year-old girl found the body of a woman who appears to have been beaten to death, NBC Washington reports.
Prince George's County police discovered the woman's body at a Red Roof Inn in the Washington suburb of Oxon Hill, Md., while trying to find Relisha Tenau Rudd. Relisha was last seen Feb. 26 at a shelter for families in Southeast Washington. She is the subject of an Amber Alert.
Prince George's police confirmed to the news station that they are investigating the woman's death as a homicide, but it is unclear whether that case is linked to the girl's disappearance from the District.
The child's disappearance was not reported until this week, after her school noted several absences and alerted authorities, NBC Washington reports.
Police in the District say that the child may be with a man in his 50s who works for the shelter and with the man's brother-in-law, who is also in his 50s.
Police told the news station that the girl was picked up at the shelter by someone known to the family but was not returned to her mother. It is unclear whether the child's relatives reported that she was missing. It appears that police became involved after the child's school became concerned about her absences and made a report.
Police were given descriptions of two vehicles—a red SUV and a black Honda Accord—that witnesses said might have been involved in the girl's disappearance. District police found the vehicles at a Red Roof Inn in Oxon Hill and enlisted the help of Prince George's police to do a room-by-room search. During the search, police found the body of the woman.
Relisha is African American and has a medium complexion. She is 4 feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes.
She might be traveling in a white 1976 GMC truck with Maryland plates 305015, authorities told NBC Washington. Relisha might be in the company of 51-year-old Kahlil Malik Tatum and might be in need of medication, authorities told the station.
Read more at NBC Washington.