REYNOLDS STATION, Ky. — Four people charged in the search for missing 8-month-old Miya Rudd are facing new charges after several court hearings earlier this week.
Miya’s parents, Tesla Tucker and Cage Rudd; her grandfather, Ricky Smith; and another man, Brodie Payne are all facing numerous charges, many of which are for trafficking various drugs.
Editor's Note: Above video originally aired on June 17, 2024.
The four are also charged with engaging in organized crime, criminal abuse of a child under 12, wanton endangerment, failure to report the death of an infant and abuse of a corpse.
Miya was reported missing on June 6 after family members told Kentucky State Police the young infant hadn’t been seen since the end of April.
Tucker and Rudd were arrested at a Super 8 in Owensboro on drugs charges, but Miya was nowhere to be found and neither parent knew where she was.
On June 14, an infant's body was found inside the family’s home in Reynolds Station. According to WEHT, authorities said the child's body was treated in a way that would “outrage ordinary family sensibilities.”
Eight people in total, mostly family members, have been arrested in the search for Miya.
The body found inside the home has not yet been confirmed as Miya, however KSP said they believe it is her. The baby was taken by the Ohio County Coroner’s Office and transported to the Kentucky Medical Examiners Office in Louisville for identification.
An online petition started last week has garnered more than 6,000 signatures urging Kentucky legislators to create a new law to safeguard children in honor of the 8-month-old.
The proposed “Miya’s Law” would prevent parents who have lost custody of their children, and have been unsuccessful in regaining custody, from keeping any newly born children.
KSP said Tucker had lost custody of three other children due to drugs. When Miya was born, hospital staff found her umbilical cord tested positive for methamphetamines.
Authorities said the parents left the hospital and evaded state officials for months.
“There needs to be a plan in place to make sure these parents are clean, able to pass drug tests, and court ordered programs to gain custody of their children back,” Eric Williams, the petition’s creator, wrote. “It’s not a law to prevent family from being together. It’s a law to protect the innocent from a very lost and unsafe parent or home.”
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