FBI Offers $25K For Tips That Could Locate Missing 2-Year-Old MI Girl

MICHIGAN — The FBI offered Tuesday a $25,000 reward for tips about a 2-year-old girl who authorities said was kidnapped by a man after he stabbed the girl's mother.

The girl, Wynter Smith, was last seen Sunday night in Lansing around 11:30 p.m. with 26-year-old Rashad Maleek Trice in a 2013 white Chevrolet Impala, officials said.

Officials believe Trice stabbed Wynter's mother, whom he had a relationship with, before he took the 2-year-old and drove away in the Impala. The mother was hospitalized in stable condition but has since been released from the hospital, officials said.

Officials believe Trice drove eastbound on Interstate 96 from Lansing into Detroit sometime around 1 a.m. Monday morning. He then got on eastbound Interstate 94 at around 2:40 a.m. until he exited the freeway in St. Clair Shores, where police said he crashed while fleeing officers around 5 a.m. Monday, officials said.

Officers arrested Trice in connection to the 2-year-old's disappearance after the crash and took him to a nearby hospital, where he remains under police supervision, officials said.

The route officials believe Trice drove late Sunday into Monday morning. FBI/Lansing Police

"This is the approximate route based on information that we've received since this incident started," Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said. "If you have any security cameras or Ring doorbells, please check your systems. If you travel the approximate route, please keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. If you own any property or work on any property close to the route, please take some time to look around and call if you see anything out of place or unusual."

Officials said Trice has family and associates in the Metro Detroit area, and that investigators were exploring all of those connections. Officials said Trice has not cooperated with investigators and has not given them any indication where Wynter may be. Officials believe the 2-year-old could be in the metro Detroit area.

Sosebee also urged the community to be cautious about spreading misinformation, which could set back the investigation. That warning comes after officers heard people telling them the 2-year-old was wrongly found while going door-to-door.

Wynter was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with rainbows and had braided shoulder-length hair. She is about 2 feet tall, weighs 25 to 30 pounds, and has brown eyes.

Officials urged anyone with information about Wynter Cole-Smith's whereabouts to call the FBI tip line at 1 (800) CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov.