Five people are now under arrest as Kentucky State Police continue a desperate search for a missing baby from Ohio County.
KSP has received no solid leads since conducting a welfare check last week on eight-month-old Miya Rudd of Reynolds Station.
Trooper Corey King says social workers were attempting to remove the child from her home.
“There were several other children, older children, that had been removed by social services and they couldn’t track down the parents, as well as this eight-month-old," King told WKU Public Radio.
The parents were found at a motel in Owensboro where police discovered fentanyl and other drugs.
A search of their home in Ohio County turned up drugs, as well, but the baby hasn’t been located. Family members told investigators hey haven’t seen the baby in over a month.
The parents, 29-year-old Tesla Tucker and 30-year-old Cage Rudd are in custody, as well as the baby’s grandparents. The grandfather, 56-year-old Ricky Smith, lived with Miya Rudd and her parents. All three are facing multiple drug, as well as Child Abuse and Abandonment charges. The grandmother, 49-year-old Billie Smith, was arrested on an active warrant for Assault stemming from an incident in Daviess County in 2023. Another man, who’s not believed to be a relative, has also been arrested. Investigators say 37-year-old Timothy Roach of Owensboro threw unprescribed Suboxone under his vehicle as troopers arrived at the Smith residence.
"Not one has or is giving us information on where this baby is," stated King. "That's why we're reaching out to the public to see if anyone has information that could give us a good, solid lead."
KSP is searching for the baby using drones and cadaver dogs near the family’s property in Ohio County.
