DETROIT − The body of missing 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith was found Wednesday on Detroit’s east side, an FBI special agent announced during a late-night news conference.
The discovery of the child’s remains, about a half mile north of Interstate 94, confirmed the worst fears of investigators, along with those of hopeful volunteers who searched the child’s neighborhood in Lansing and of cellphone users jarred by an Amber Alert in the wee hours of Monday morning.
But by Wednesday night there was “no good news,” said Wynter’s father, Almount Smith, of Lansing, adding: “She was found.” What had been a missing-person search had become a homicide investigation, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said.
“Our hearts are with the family of Wynter Cole Smith,” Sosebee said late Wednesday night, after telling reporters that Wynter’s body was found at 6:50 p.m. in Detroit.
“We saw a tremendous amount of support for this family. … I promise that the family will get the justice they deserve,” Sosebee said. The child’s tiny body was found by federal investigators, he said. Federal agents are routinely brought into investigations of suspected kidnappings.
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Mother’s ex-boyfriend arrested
Wynter had been missing since the early morning hours of Monday when the alert was issued following a reported sexual assault and home invasion of her mother in Lansing.
The suspect, Rashad Trice, 26, was arraigned on Wednesday on several charges including criminal sexual conduct, home invasion, unlawful imprisonment and domestic violence.
When Trice was arrested, Wynter was not with him. Police said Trice took the toddler from her home in Lansing on Sunday.
Investigators said Wynter was taken by Trice, her mom’s ex-boyfriend, after he stabbed Wynter’s mother, Symari Cole. He then fled to the Detroit area with Wynter, prompting an Amber Alert. Trice eventually was arrested in St. Clair Shores.
Michigan Amber Alert:Lansing police issue Amber Alert for missing 2-year-old Wynter Smith last seen July 2
A nearly two year relationship
Trice’s mother, Shontayzia Trice, told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that her son and Cole had been in a relationship for almost two years and currently living together. She said she had no knowledge of Wynter’s whereabouts and that she has not seen her son in almost a year.
Numerous police agencies took part in the search for the child, including local police in Lansing, St. Clair Shores and Detroit, Michigan State Police and the FBI.
