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FBI offers $25,000 reward for info that leads authorities to missing Lansing toddler

"We just want Wynter home safe," Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said. "Wynter is one of our kids, and we will not rest until we find her."

LANSING, Mich. — The FBI and Lansing Police are continuing to search for a 2-year-old who was taken from her home earlier over the weekend.

Lansing Police teamed up with the FBI in the search for missing child Wynter Cole-Smith. While her accused abductor is in custody, the child is nowhere to be found. 

Authorities are zeroing in on the accused suspect's travel route from Lansing to St. Clair Shores, and ask anyone who lives along the route to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.  

"We just want Wynter home safe," Chief Ellery Sosebee said. "Wynter is one of our kids, and we will not rest until we find her."

Credit: FBI and Lansing Police
Credit: FBI and Lansing Police

Law enforcement has been door-to-door canvassing, using drones, flying helicopters with heat-sensing technologies and deploying dive teams to no avail.

The FBI said they are bringing in every resource they have to help authorities find her, and are now offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads police to her. 

Around 11:30 p.m. on  Sunday, July 2, authorities said 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. 

The 22-year-old woman 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 a 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.  

The toddler wasn't in the apartment or the stolen car, and remains missing. 

Lansing Police are asking if you see her or have any information, to please call the Lansing Police Department at 517-483-4600 or call Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867.

You can also call the FBI's Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. 

❗️WE NEED YOUR HELP❗️ This is the route we believe that Rashad Trice may have taken with 2-year-old Wynter Smith in the...

Posted by Lansing Police Department on Monday, July 3, 2023

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