Man's Body Found During Search for 8-Year-Old Relisha Rudd

Police found the body of a man Monday while searching for missing 8-year-old girl Relisha Rudd in Northeast Washington Park. 

Law enforcement officials told the Washington Post that they do not know the identity of the body. 

Police have been scouring 700-acre Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens searching for Rudd, who was last seen on March 1 with a janitor from the homeless shelter where she lived with her mother. 

Authorities are continuing to search for the janitor, Kahlil Malik Tatum, 51, who is being sought by the FBI as well as local police. He is charged with killing his wife, and potentially for the kidnapping of Rudd. 

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said last week that investigators are hopeful that Rudd is alive, but described the search as a "recovery mission," as she said they "cannot ignore the possibility that he [Tatum] killed her."

Police said that Tatum and Rudd were last seen together on March 1, and that Tatum bought 42-gallon large trash bags the next day, and was seen in the park. 

Tatum's family home is a block away from the park, which runs along the Anacostia River. 

Rudd's mother, 27-year-old Shamika Young, said she allowed her daughter to go home with Tatum on Feb. 26, as several family members trusted the man. Young never reported Relisha missing, saying she felt her daughter was safe with Tatum, and that she feared authorities would take away her three children if she went to the authorities. 

A grand jury is investigating possible obstruction of justice charges against Rudd's mother.  

School officials were at first not concerned over Relisha's absences, as she had been excused by notes from "Dr. Tatum."

Washington, D.C. police did not get involved in the investigation until March 19, when a social worker from Relisha's school went to the shelter to meet "Dr. Tatum" so she could get an explanation for the girl's absences. Police said that Tatum "abruptly left before his shift," and that the social worker discovered that there is no Dr. Tatum. 

The worker contacted police, who sent out a missing person alert. 

Later that night, police said that Tatum and his wife, Andrea, checked into a Red Roof Inn in Oxon Hill. Police said that he shot his wife in the head that night or early on March 20, and left their cars in the parking lot. 

Court documents show that Tatum and his wife filed for legal separation in early February. 

Other documents show that police searched a storage locker on South Capitol Street that was rented in August of last year. Documents show that the payment for the locker was made on March 3, which was two days after Relisha was last seen. 

Police are also investigating other contact that Tatum had with young girls at the homeless shelter. Sources have said that Tatum frequently offered young girls gifts, including $20 bills, and that he spent a good deal of time with Relisha. 

The shelter, which is managed by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, prohibits social interaction between employees and residents.