UPDATE: Police Say D.C. Man May Have Killed Missing Girl, Has Atlanta Ties

Authorities can’t ignore the possibility that missing 8-year-old Relisha Tenau Rudd has been killed by the janitor of a homeless shelter where she lived, said Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier at a news conference Thursday.

The janitor, Kahlil Malik Tatum, 51, has ties to the metro Atlanta area. 

Digital billboards in downtown Atlanta were flashing photos of the two on Thursday morning. Billboards from Pennsylvania to Florida are reportedly flashing their photos.

Relisha was last seen March 1 with Tatum in the District of Columbia, with her mother’s permission. On March 2, Tatum bought contractor-weight trash bags and spent a considerable amount of time in the Washington, D.C., park where investigators and search dogs have spent much of Thursday.

Police can’t ignore the possibility that “he may have killed her,” the police chief said of the girl’s fate.

Tatum was seen at work, and at various location around the District until March 22, Lanier said. Relisha was not seen with him.

There have been no confirmed sightings for Tatum since his wife was found dead last week in a Prince George’s County Maryland hotel room, Lanier said.

The FBI has added Tatum to its most wanted list; authorities say he is considered armed and dangerous.

A reward for information leading to Tatum’s arrest and the recovery of Rudd has increased to $70,000.

The girl’s grandmother told WTOP that the child suffers from severe headaches and seizures, which Tatum was aware of and may have used to keep Rudd out of school.

Investigators believe the suspect, Kahlil Malik Tatum, 51, has ties to the metro Atlanta area.

He is described as a black man, standing 5-foot-7 and weighing 170 pounds. He has tattoos on his chest and both arms, and a scar on his left arm. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

Relisha Tenau Rudd is described as a black female, standing four feet tall and weighing about 70 to 80 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and a medium complexion.

Digital billboards in downtown Atlanta were flashing photos of the two on Thursday morning. Billboards from Pennsylvania to Florida are reportedly flashing their photos.

Police issued an Amber Alert for the Washington girl last week after they found a woman linked to the case dead from an apparent gunshot wound in a Prince George’s County hotel room. Officers later found the white 1976 GMC truck they believed the two were traveling in on March 20 in Hyattsville, MD.

An arrest warrant has been issued in Prince George’s County for Tatum for the murder of his wife, Andrea Denise Tatum, 51, of Washington.

The Prince George’s County Police Department believes Tatum, also of Washington, has taken the girl.

Police on Tuesday released video of the pair in a hotel hallway. The surveillance footage of Rudd and Tatum was taken on Feb. 26 at the Holiday Inn Express in Northeast D.C., says FOX DC. The video shows the two walking down a hallway in the hotel. Rudd is shown wearing a pair of pink boots and a purple Helly Hansen brand jacket with white stripes in the video.

Investigators have traveled to several states in an effort to find Rudd and Tatum, police told the TV station. Police will not say where the two were last seen together.

Antonio Wheeler, the little girl’s stepfather, says Kahlil Tatum was seen at the D.C. homeless shelter where he works on March 19. He then vanished when Wheeler asked him to bring Rudd home; authorities have said the family trusted Tatum and Rudd often stayed at the Tatum house.

The FBI has announced a reward of up to $70,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Tatum and the location of Rudd.

The investigation is being conducted jointly by the Metropolitan Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

- Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed to this story

See Also:

Video Released of Man Sought in Wife's Murder, Missing 8-Year-Old Girl

Hunt Continues for Man Sought in Wife's Murder, Missing 8-Year-Old Girl