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Amber alert latest: Search for abducted 2-year-old continues while suspect in custody

Wynter Smith
Posted at 3:36 AM, Jul 03, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-03 23:17:52-04

LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Lansing Police Department issued an Amber Alert for a 2-year-old girl taken from the city of Lansing early Monday morning.

The girl, Wynter Cole Smith, is described as a 2-year-old Black girl with braided shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with rainbows.

Police said they were called to a home on Sunday and found a 22-year-old woman who was stabbed; she reportedly said she was stabbed by Rashad Malak Trice.

Police said the woman and Trice had a previous relationship together. The paternal grandmother of Wynter says the two have a 1-year-old child together. The child Trice allegedly took was not his own child.

"We’ve been up all night, got the Amber Alert out, reaching out to ... everybody I can," said Sharen Eddings, Wynter's grandmother, who spoke to us while clutching a sandal and clothing item belonging to the toddler.

According to police, Trice left the home in the woman's vehicle, a white 2013 Chevy Impala. It was also discovered that the victim's 2-year-old daughter, Wynter, was gone.

Police later located Trice around 6 a.m. Monday in St. Clair Shores, and he was taken into custody after initially fleeing and resisting officers on the scene. However, police did not locate Wynter.

"My heart just dropped. I do have faith, but ... that really knocked the wind out of me," said Eddings.

Detroit police said Monday that the suspect was seen driving throughout the city of Detroit between the hours 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the Chevy Impala.

Lansing police and the FBI Detroit, which is assisting with the investigation, said the mother is in stable condition and is being treated at the hospital.

Eddings said her granddaughter is smart, describing how she would point out letters and recite the alphabet to herself. She's asking the community for help to bring her beloved granddaughter home.

Police are asking anyone who sees her or anyone with information on where she might be to call the Lansing Police Department at 517-483-4600, Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI and tips.fbi.gov.