Kentucky State Police made additional arrests Tuesday as they search for an 8-month-old baby who reportedly hasn’t been seen in more than a month.
Police arrested the baby’s grandparents, Taletha and David Tucker, after serving a search warrant at their Owensboro home on Tuesday, according to a news release.
However, police have not found the baby, Miya Rudd, at their residence in Western Kentucky.
Taletha and David Tucker are the parents of Tesla Tucker, Miya’s mother.
Tesla Tucker and Cage Rudd, the baby’s father, have been accused of abandoning her.
Police searched for 8-month-old Miya for days, without success. A state police spokesperson reportedly told WHAS-TV that her parents have not cooperated in efforts to find her.
Grandparents charged in missing child case
State police arrested Taletha D. Tucker, 50, on a charge of being a fugitive from Indiana. David Tucker, 53, was arrested on a warrant charging him with failure to pay in a previous case, according to state police.
Troopers seized electronic devices during the search, the news release said.
Tesla Tucker’s other three children lived with her parents. State social workers took the three children to another location after arresting the parents, state police said.
Chronology of events in the Miya Rudd case
The search for the baby began after state police were asked to check on her.
Tesla Tucker told her mother that social workers removed the baby from their Ohio County home on May 1, but investigators confirmed that child welfare workers and police did not remove the baby, according to an arrest warrant in the case.
According to the citation, family members have not seen Miya since late April.
Police found the baby’s parents, Tucker and Rudd, at a motel in Owensboro. The two did not know where Miya was, the citation said.
Tucker and Rudd reportedly had a large quantity of drugs with them.
In addition to child abandonment, they are also charged with possession of fentanyl; trafficking in methamphetamine; child abuse in the first degree; marijuana trafficking; trading in legendary medicines; and participating in organized crime.
Police arrested several other people while trying to find the baby, including her other grandfather, Ricky Smith, 56, who was charged with first-degree child molestation, abandonment of a minor, participation in organized crime and various drug crimes.
Police arrested the Miya’s other grandmother, Billie Smith, 49, on an outstanding assault warrant unrelated to the baby, when they went to her home to search.
Police also arrested Timothy Roach, 37. Officers said when they stopped at Smith’s home, they saw Roach throw a drug that was not prescribed to him under a vehicle.
Police also used dogs to search for Miya.
Anyone with information about the case has been asked to contact state police at (270) 826-3312.
