Police Deploy Dogs in Search for Missing Kentucky Baby

July 11, 2024

Kentucky State Police has told Newsweek that cadaver dogs have been deployed in the search for missing 8-month-old baby Miya Rudd.

Officers are using the animals, trained to detect human remains, as part of an ongoing investigation that opened last week after authorities could not locate Miya during a welfare check with her parents.

Troopers made further arrests related to the search over the weekend, including Miya's 49-year-old grandmother, Billie J. (Rudd) Smith, on assault and domestic violence warrants pertaining to incidents in October 2023.

Timothy L. Roach, 37, was also arrested, and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Prescription Controlled Substance Not in Proper Container, according to an official update. His connection to Miya Rudd or her family remains unclear.

Earlier police reports referred to Miya as both Miya Tucker and Miya Rudd, but Kentucky State Police have clarified that her legal name is Rudd.

Miya's grandmother was held in the Ohio Country Detention Center on a $25,000 bond, while her parents were arrested in Kentucky's Ohio County on Thursday.

Miya's mother, 29-year-old Tesla Tucker, was arrested and charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, engaging in organized crime and abandonment of a minor.

Miya's father, 30-year-old Cage Rudd, was also arrested on the same charges. Both were initially detained at Daviess County Detention Center in Owensboro.

A third person who lived with the family, identified as 56-year-old Ricky Smith, was also arrested on drug and gun charges, as well as child abuse.

Additional charges have since been filed against Miya's parents.

Tesla Tucker was charged with the drug trafficking of marijuana and methamphetamine, as well as first degree child abuse.

Miya's father, Cage was charged with trafficking in controlled substance, and child abuse also.

Ricky Smith, Miya's grandfather, received multiple charges, including trafficking in controlled substance, child abuse, abandonment of a minor, engaging in organized crime, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.

Rudd, Tucker, and Smith were scheduled to appear in Ohio County District Court in Hartford on Monday.

Newsweek has contacted Kentucky State Police for additional information.

Miya is reported to have brown hair and green eyes. She was last suspected to be in the care of her parents, Tesla Tucker and Cage C. Rudd. However, the 8-month-old could not be found during the welfare check.

WEHT, an ABC-affiliated television station located in Evansville, Indiana, reported on Friday that people who live in the town of Reynolds Station have said they're joining in the search for Miya Rudd.

Shane Heminway, a neighbor of the baby's family, told WEHT that locals had experienced issues with Rudd and Tesla Tucker, claiming the couple raced cars in the cemetery and drove dangerously.

Kentucky State Police have urged anyone with information about Miya Rudd to contact 270-826-3312.

This article was updated at 12:18 p.m. ET to include updated information from Kentucky State Police.

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