DETROIT — A two-year-old who went missing from the Lansing area has been found dead, police say. She was allegedly taken from her home by her mother's ex-boyfriend last weekend.
Wynter Cole-Smith's body was discovered near the Coleman A. Young Airport on Detroit's east side around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 2, authorities said 26-year-old Rashad Trice got into an altercation with his ex-girlfriend, stabbing her.
Wynter, along with her 1-year-old brother, were in the apartment at the time of the violence. Police say Trice abducted Wynter.
Wynter's mother, who is 22, was able to get away from him to call for help and was taken to the hospital for treatment. She was later released.
Trice is accused of stealing her white 2013 Chevrolet Impala that he later crashed. He was arrested in St. Clair Shores, which is about 90 miles from Lansing. Trice remains in the hospital and is under police supervision. He was charged with attempted murder for the stabbing.
While he was arrested, Wynter was nowhere to be found. Search crews spanned I-96, a major highway between Lansing and Detroit, looking for her.
A state-wide Amber Alert was sent, and a $25,000 reward was offered for information on her disappearance. Law enforcement went canvassing door-to-door, used drones, flew helicopters with heat-sensing technologies and deployed dive teams to no avail.
Her body was finally discovered after three days by a federal search party.
"This is not the outcome anyone had hoped for," said Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee at the press conference. "I promise law enforcement will see that the family gets the justice that they so deserve."
"We say the community show endless amounts of support and assistance in helping find Wynter, and now we need that same support and love for the family as they grieve."
The investigation is still underway.
Watch the full conference here:
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