LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — A $25,000 reward is now being offered by the FBI as the search for young Wynter Cole-Smith continues.
The FBI released the route they believe the suspect took from Lansing to St. Clair Shores in the overnight hours between Sunday and Monday, and are asking drivers on those roads to keep their eyes peeled.
“Wynter is just a bundle of love and joy... She’s just like a little angel. She brings the brightest light ever for a kid,” said Wynter's maternal grandmother Willeen Cannon, who helped raise Wynter.
The last 48 hours have been an ongoing tragedy for Cannon and her family after her 22-year-old daughter was stabbed by an ex-boyfriend who authorities believe then kidnapped Cannon’s granddaughter, 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith. The ex-boyfriend, Rashad Trice, who is not Wynter’s father, was soon arrested in St. Clair Shores, but Wynter was nowhere to be found.
“We're all devastated," Cannon said. "It’s hard day by day moving on without this child, knowing that she’s missing and we don't know what's happening to her, if anything.”
Cannon says her daughter is now out of the hospital recovering from the physical attack, but the emotional injuries remain. Trice is staying silent on Wynter’s whereabouts, as investigators continue to interview him.
“It's torturing, you know? It's mentally torturing," Cannon said. "We can't move on like this for much longer. We need to bring this child home.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the FBI held a joint press conference with Lansing police to announce a $25,000 reward for information. During the search outside the family's apartment complex in Lansing on Monday, 7 Action News cameras captured law enforcement using drones in the sky, dive boats in water and boots on the ground to extensively search the nearby area.
On Tuesday evening, 7 Action News spotted what appeared to be FBI agents gathered at a closed rest stop off I-96 in Howell. The rest stop was located along the suspects route that the FBI released to the public. They're asking drivers to look for anything suspicious.
“We are positive. We're going into this positive looking for a child that is alive, not a corpse,” Cannon said. “We're pretty certain at this point she may be OK, and were praying she's OK, but we need everyone's help to bring her home safe.”
Cannon says the family has no leads on where Wynter is or what condition she’s in. They remain hopeful, asking for tips and prayers that Wynter is brought home safe and sound.
"Please bring our baby home," Cannon said. "We love Wynter. We miss her. We mourn her even in her living life because we don't know where she is.”
The search is extensive with a route that’s over 100 miles long. The suspect was driving a 2013 white Chevrolet Impala. Wynter was last seen with shoulder length braided hair, wearing a white shirt with a rainbow on it.
Anyone with information on Wynter's whereabouts can submit tips to tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
