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Eight-Year-Old Vanishes While Fifty Adults Failed to Notice
Eight-Year-Old Vanishes While Fifty Adults Failed to Notice
An eight-year-old girl disappeared from a D.C. homeless shelter with a janitor posing as a doctor, unnoticed by dozens of adults for weeks. How did a system designed to protect children fail so completely, allowing a child to vanish without a trace?
In this episode, we analyze the shocking disappearance of Relisha Rudd from the D.C. General Shelter in 2014. We explore the sequence of ordinary failures-from a school's delayed action to a mother's misplaced trust-that created the perfect window for a child to be taken.
Case: Relisha Rudd Disappearance
Location: D.C. General Shelter, Washington, D.C.
Date: March 1, 2014
Main Figure: Khalil Tatum
Victim: Relisha Rudd
- Relisha Rudd, eight years old, walked out of the D.C. General Shelter with Khalil Tatum, 51, a janitor.
- Tatum presented himself as a physician to Relisha's mother, Shamika Young, claiming concern for Relisha's health.
- Payne Elementary School accepted a note from a family member identifying Tatum as "Dr. Tatum" and excusing Relisha's absences.
- Relisha accumulated thirty unexcused absences by March 19, 2014, before a missing persons report was filed.
- The D.C. General Shelter housed up to five hundred children, with reports of unsanitary conditions and broken security cameras.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
An eight-year-old girl disappeared from a D.C. homeless shelter with a janitor posing as a doctor, unnoticed by dozens of adults for weeks. How did a system designed to protect children fail so completely, allowing a child to vanish without a trace?
In this episode, we analyze the shocking disappearance of Relisha Rudd from the D.C. General Shelter in 2014. We explore the sequence of ordinary failures-from a school's delayed action to a mother's misplaced trust-that created the perfect window for a child to be taken.
Case: Relisha Rudd Disappearance
Location: D.C. General Shelter, Washington, D.C.
Date: March 1, 2014
Main Figure: Khalil Tatum
Victim: Relisha Rudd
- Relisha Rudd, eight years old, walked out of the D.C. General Shelter with Khalil Tatum, 51, a janitor.
- Tatum presented himself as a physician to Relisha's mother, Shamika Young, claiming concern for Relisha's health.
- Payne Elementary School accepted a note from a family member identifying Tatum as "Dr. Tatum" and excusing Relisha's absences.
- Relisha accumulated thirty unexcused absences by March 19, 2014, before a missing persons report was filed.
- The D.C. General Shelter housed up to five hundred children, with reports of unsanitary conditions and broken security cameras.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
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By Creator at ObomediaEight-Year-Old Vanishes While Fifty Adults Failed to Notice
An eight-year-old girl disappeared from a D.C. homeless shelter with a janitor posing as a doctor, unnoticed by dozens of adults for weeks. How did a system designed to protect children fail so completely, allowing a child to vanish without a trace?
In this episode, we analyze the shocking disappearance of Relisha Rudd from the D.C. General Shelter in 2014. We explore the sequence of ordinary failures-from a school's delayed action to a mother's misplaced trust-that created the perfect window for a child to be taken.
Case: Relisha Rudd Disappearance
Location: D.C. General Shelter, Washington, D.C.
Date: March 1, 2014
Main Figure: Khalil Tatum
Victim: Relisha Rudd
- Relisha Rudd, eight years old, walked out of the D.C. General Shelter with Khalil Tatum, 51, a janitor.
- Tatum presented himself as a physician to Relisha's mother, Shamika Young, claiming concern for Relisha's health.
- Payne Elementary School accepted a note from a family member identifying Tatum as "Dr. Tatum" and excusing Relisha's absences.
- Relisha accumulated thirty unexcused absences by March 19, 2014, before a missing persons report was filed.
- The D.C. General Shelter housed up to five hundred children, with reports of unsanitary conditions and broken security cameras.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
An eight-year-old girl disappeared from a D.C. homeless shelter with a janitor posing as a doctor, unnoticed by dozens of adults for weeks. How did a system designed to protect children fail so completely, allowing a child to vanish without a trace?
In this episode, we analyze the shocking disappearance of Relisha Rudd from the D.C. General Shelter in 2014. We explore the sequence of ordinary failures-from a school's delayed action to a mother's misplaced trust-that created the perfect window for a child to be taken.
Case: Relisha Rudd Disappearance
Location: D.C. General Shelter, Washington, D.C.
Date: March 1, 2014
Main Figure: Khalil Tatum
Victim: Relisha Rudd
- Relisha Rudd, eight years old, walked out of the D.C. General Shelter with Khalil Tatum, 51, a janitor.
- Tatum presented himself as a physician to Relisha's mother, Shamika Young, claiming concern for Relisha's health.
- Payne Elementary School accepted a note from a family member identifying Tatum as "Dr. Tatum" and excusing Relisha's absences.
- Relisha accumulated thirty unexcused absences by March 19, 2014, before a missing persons report was filed.
- The D.C. General Shelter housed up to five hundred children, with reports of unsanitary conditions and broken security cameras.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie