Kentucky State Police Find Likely Remains of Missing 8-Month-Old Miya Rudd at Family Residence

Kentucky State Police have located the remains of an infant that are believed to belong to 8-month-old Miya Rudd, who has been missing. The discovery was made on Friday during a search of the family's residence. The decomposing body was found in a corner of the home, which was filled with debris.

The infant's body was found consistent with Miya Rudd, as stated by the Kentucky State Police detectives. Preliminary findings from a medical examiner, including possible identification, are expected to be revealed. With this discovery, the search for Miya now transitions into a criminal investigation.

Arrests and Allegations

The parents of the missing child, Tesla Tucker, 29, and Cage Rudd, 30, along with paternal grandparents, Billie J. Smith, 49, and Ricky J. Smith, 56, were arrested in early June on drug charges. Another individual, identified as Timothy L. Roach, was also arrested. It was reported that investigators found drugs, including pills containing fentanyl, "in plain sight" at a Motel 6 where Miya's parents were contacted. The pair also faced allegations of child abandonment.

On Wednesday, Miya's maternal grandparents, Taletha and David Tucker, who have been raising her three siblings, were arrested based on warrants. On Thursday, a man who had been living with Miya's parents for six months, Brodie C. Payne, 28, was charged and accused of trafficking drugs, including methamphetamine, from the residence.

State police used cadaver dogs to search the woods near Miya's home for the missing girl. Police identified her in recent days as Maya Tucker, but they now appear to be using Rudd as her last name. State child welfare authorities had removed three of Miya's siblings from her home because of drug allegations, and were planning to do the same with Miya before she went missing. Her umbilical cord had tested positive for methamphetamine shortly after birth. A family member last saw her at the end of April, and her parents initially told investigators she had already been removed by the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which was later found to be untrue.