Mich. man arrested for allegedly stabbing ex, kidnapping her 2-year-old daughter who remains missing

LANSING, Mich. (TCD) -- Local and federal law enforcement agencies are searching for a 2-year-old girl who was reportedly kidnapped by a man who allegedly stabbed her mother.

According to the FBI, on July 2 at 11:30 p.m., 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith and her 1-year-old brother were with their mother at their apartment in Lansing, Michigan, when the mother’s ex-boyfriend, Rashad Trice, allegedly assaulted her. The mother reportedly fled the apartment and called for help. Trice allegedly stole a white Chevy Impala and drove off with Wynter. The 1-year-old boy was not harmed.

The Lansing State Journal reports Trice allegedly stabbed the mother, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. She has since been released from the hospital.

Trice was located about 90 miles away in St. Clair Shores and arrested, but Wynter remains missing.

Lansing Police and the FBI shared the route Trice took after the alleged kidnapping, and the FBI is now offering a $25,000 for information leading to Wynter’s whereabouts.

Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said in a July 4 press conference officials have conducted various types of searches for the girl, including door-to-door canvassing, as well as drones, K-9s, helicopters, and a dive team, though they’ve had "no success so far."

Trice is not Wynter’s biological father, the Lansing State Journal reports.

On Wednesday, July 5, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office announced Trice was arraigned on charges of assault with intent to murder, two counts of criminal sexual conduct, home invasion, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated domestic violence, unlawful driving away of an automobile, and felonious assault.

Prosecutor John Dewane said Trice is a habitual offender and said the charges stem from the "brutal physical and sexual assault that took place at an apartment on Beaujardin Drive on July 2, 2023."

Trice is being held without bond.

MORE:

• Missing Person - FBI Detroit 
• Update - Lansing Police Department
• Maps detailing Rashad Trice's approximate route on Monday morning, July 3 - FBI Detroit
• Police search for missing Wynter Cole Smith in wooded area near I496, US 127, Red Cedar River - Lansing State Journal
• Press Release - Ingham County Prosecutor's Office 
• Joint Press Conference - Lansing Police Department