UPDATED:Vigil for Missing DC Girl, Alleged Abductor Gets Murder Rap

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UPDATED, Sunday, March 23, 2014–

Saturday night the mother and stepfather of Relisha Tenau Rudd were joined by dozens in a candlelight vigil for the missing 8-year-old, reports the Washington Post. They gathered at the homeless shelter where Rudd lived with her family, before her disappearance in the care of Khalil Malik Tatum, a janitor who worked there. “I miss my daughter,” said the girl’s mother, Shamika Young, according to the Post. “I cry every night for her.” Rudd and Tatum have not yet been located. An Amber Alert is still in effect and the FBI has joined the investigation.

UPDATED, Saturday, March 22, 2014–

Police have charged Khalil Malik Tatum with the murder of his wife, Andrea Denise Tatum, WUSA-9 reports. Andrea Tatum, 51, was found Thursday, beaten at a Red Roof Inn on Oxon Hill Road in Prince George’s County, Md. Meanwhile, an Amber Alert is still active for 8-year-old Relisha Tenau Rudd, whom Khalil Tatum is believed to have abducted.

In the WUSA-9 video below, Rudd’s stepfather, Antonio Wheeler, explains why the parents trusted Tatum with their daughter, and allowed her to stay with him.

Police are asking anyone with information about the child’s whereabouts to call the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099, the Youth Investigations Division at 202-576-6768, or 911.

Earlier:

Relisha Tenau Rudd, 8, (pictured above) was last seen at a Washington family shelter Feb. 26. According to reports, Relisha is described as four feet tall and approximately 70-80 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. A man, Khalil Malik Tatum (pictured below,) is suspected of abducting Relisha.

kahlil_tatum_296 According to D.C.’s ABC News7, Tatum is a janitor at the homeless shelter. It’s being reported that Relisha’s mother gave him permission to spend time with her daughter but Tatum never brought her back. Police were alerted of the girl’s disappearance, however, when her teacher reported that she’d been missing from school for weeks.

Wednesday, police found the body of Tatum’s wife in a room at a Red Roof Inn in Prince George County. She was reportedly beaten to death. Police also found a white 1976 GMC truck that they say was being used by Tatum. An Amber Alert was issued. According to the alert update issued on Thursday afternoon, Tatum may very well be armed and dangerous.