Officials in Kentucky believe they’ve found the remains of 8-month-old baby Miya Rudd, who reportedly hasn’t been seen alive since April. The decomposed body was allegedly found inside the home of Rudd’s family, and investigators believe the remains may have been intentionally concealed.
WDRB reported that Kentucky State Police detectives located an infant’s body about 1:15 p.m. June 14 after a week-long search. Tragically, it appears the child had not been seen for months, but no one had reported her missing.
Police reportedly found out she was missing after a welfare check.
Troopers went to the family’s home in Reynold’s Station for a welfare check on June 6, according to a news release from the Kentucky State Police. When they arrived, they were unable to find the infant, who had reportedly been in the care of her parents, Tesla Tucker, 29, and Cage Rudd, 30.
The home was allegedly in deplorable condition and littered with trash and drug paraphernalia. Tucker and Rudd were promptly arrested on drug and child abandonment charges.
Police began the search for Miya.
A photograph of the baby as a newborn circulated on social media, and many people began to speculate what happened to the infant.
Police reportedly tried to search the home multiple times, but it proved difficult.
“Inside the house, it was a dangerous condition for us as well as the K9s to be in, just based on the amount of residue as well as drugs inside the house,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Corey King told WFIE.
Once the scene was clear, however, investigators made the tragic discovery.
“As you can imagine inside of the house, by looking and gauging the outside, it was equally as cluttered as the outside,” King said. “So, underneath a lot of debris is where we unfortunately located the baby’s body.”
The baby’s death is under investigation.
Police suspect the infant is Miya and have ordered an autopsy to confirm her identity and to determine the cause of death.
“We’re feeling confident that we can now at least know the condition of this baby, and whether it went from a search to a recovery now, that really changes the mindset in how we do business and what we do best at, and that is investigating, getting the answers we need; and then prosecuting,” King said.
WFIE reported that Miya was born with methamphetamine in her system and was apparently supposed to be placed with her other siblings, but that allegedly didn’t happen.
Multiple people have been charged in Miya’s death.
Tucket, Rudd, Ricky J. Smith, and Brodie C. Payne were all charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and failure to report the death of a person, according to WCLU. The investigation is ongoing, and it is likely that more charges will follow.
Loved ones have created a GoFundMe account.
Alexis Stinnett initially created a GoFundMe page to help with Miya’s final expenses, but an update says the Glenn Funeral Home has offered to donate services for the baby.
All donations will go to her surviving siblings. The fundraiser has brought in more than $6,700 of a $10,000 goal thus far.