Relisha Rudd

No one had seen 8-year-old Relisha Rudd for weeks before she was finally reported missing in March of 2014. So where was she? Why did it take so long for anyone to notice? And who was to blame? Today’s episode explores what can happen when the systems built to protect families just — *don’t*.

Please be aware that today’s story contains references to suicide, gun violence, child abuse, and housing insecurity.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

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To learn more about Relisha’s story and hear from her family, listen to Through the Cracks by Jonquilyn Hill

Audio Used:

YouTube: Relisha Rudd Special, by WUSA9

YouTube: Relisha Rudd Investigation: Adult male body found near search location reported to be Tatum, by ABC 7 News

YouTube: The Disappearance of Relisha Rudd, by The Steve Wilkos Show

Key Research Mentioned

The Washington Post: Social worker’s nightmare: The day he discovered Relisha Rudd was missing, by Michael Alison Chandler

Washington Post: Relisha Rudd radio: Hundreds of listeners believe they can find missing 8-year-old, by Theresa Vargas

The Washington Post: Before Relisha Rudd went missing, the 8-year-old longed to escape D.C.’s homeless shelter, Theresa Vargas, Emma Brown, Lyn Bui, and Peter Hermann

The Washington Post: Andrea Tatum’s muder remains as much a mystery as Relisha Rudd’s disappearance, by Theresa Vargas and Lynh Bui

Urban Institute: Reimagining Life for Relisha Rudd, by Sarah Gillespie, Mary K. Cunningham, and Lionel Foster

Inside Edition: Six Years On, Family of Relisha Rudd Still Has Many Unanswered Questions About 8-Year-Old’s Disappearance, by Johanna Li

Sources Used

WAMU: Before Relisha Rudd Disappeared, Her Family Survived Abuse, Trauma, by Jonquilyn Hill

WUSA9: The disappearance of Relisha Rudd: 3 years later, by Lesli Foster 

WAMU: How Relisha Rudd’s Mother Became An Easy Target After Her Daughter’s Disappearance by Jonquilyn Hill 

National Alliance to End Homelessness: The State of Homelessness in America

DCist: ‘Two Sides of the Same Coin’: Addressing the Link Between Racism And Homelessness, by Christian Zapata

BU School of Public Health: Homelessness, Its Consequences, and Its Causes

WAMU: TIMELINE: What Happened to Relisha Rudd? by Poncie Rutsch

FBI: Authorities Release Video Surveillance of Kahlil Malik Tatum and Relisha Tenau Rudd

NY Daily News: There’s still no answers in Relisha Rudd’s disappearance — but her relatives have theories about what happened, by Jessica Schladebeck

WAMU: Janitor, Doctor, Godfather… Who Was Kahlil Tatum?, by Jonquilyn Hill 

WTOPnews: Report documents hazards at D.C. homeless shelter, by wtopstaff

The Washington Informer: Bowser Keeps Promise, Closes Doors of D.C. General

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments: Homelessness in Metropolitan Washington, by Hillary Chapman