Father of deceased child had diverted prison sentence

An Ohio County man charged in connection with the disappearance of his daughter — which led to investigators recovering a body buried at the man’s Reynolds Station home — had pleaded guilty to felony drug charges in exchange for diversion shortly before the child was reported missing.

Meanwhile, a second man charged in the investigation, had recently been released from state Department of Corrections custody on parole. A third man charged was already in jail on other drug charges.

Cage C. Rudd, 30, of Reynolds Station, is facing numerous charges in connection in the disappearance of Miya Rudd, 8 months old. Miya Rudd was reported missing in late April by relatives who hadn’t seen since earlier in the year.

On Friday, Kentucky State Police investigators recovered a body “consistent” with Miya Rudd buried under debris inside the Deanfield Church Road home the child shared with Cage Rudd, her mother, Tesla N. Tucker, 29, and two other men, Ricky J. Smith, 56, and Brodie C. Payne II, 28.

All four were charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and failure to report the death of a person. Those charges are on top of charges of first-degree drug trafficking, engaging in organized crime being levied against all four.

Rudd, Tucker, and Smith also face charges of first-degree criminal abuse (child under age 12) and Rudd and Tucker are facing charges of abandonment of a minor.

Cage Rudd was charged on Feb. 23 with first-degree possession of a controlled substance (meth), a felony, after an incident on Kentucky 54 in Whitesville. Kentucky State Police reports say a trooper attempting to make a traffic stop saw the vehicle he was following turn on Franklin Street. Reports say the trooper saw the vehicle stopped with its engine and lights off in a parking lot and was told the driver was hiding behind a truck.

The driver, Rudd, attempted to hide and was apprehended, and a search of the truck’s rear hitch uncovered a baggie of suspected crystal methamphetamine, reports say. Rudd was charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance (meth), possession of drug paraphernalia and traffic-related violations.

Rudd was in jail until March 3 and was indicted on the meth charge March 8. On March 20, Rudd pleaded guilty to the charge. He received one year in prison and had the charge diverted for one year, meaning the charge against him would be dismissed if he complied with the conditions of his diversion. The paraphernalia and traffic charges were dismissed.

Rudd was required to undergo a substance abuse assessment and comply with any of the assessor’s recommendations. Rudd’s file does not say if that occurred.

The office of probation and parole filed a motion to revoke Rudd’s diversion on June 12, seven days after his arrest in connection to KSP’s search for Miya Rudd. The motion says, at the time of his arrest, Rudd told detectives he did not know Miya Rudd’s whereabouts.

Rudd was arrested with “a large amount of drugs” at the Super 8 Motel where he and Tucker were staying, the report says, and that Rudd was found with a tube of marijuana on him by jail staff during booking, after being warned about trying to take contraband into the jail, the report says.

Rudd is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, where the judge is anticipated to schedule a hearing to revoke Rudd’s diversion.

Ricky Smith was also on probation at the time he was charged in the investigation into Miya’s disappearance. Smith was charged in November 2022 with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (meth). He was sentenced to three years in prison, and was placed on supervision under the office of probation and parole on March 22 of this year.

Smith has a hearing scheduled to revoke is parole Tuesday.

Tesla Tucker has no record with the Department of Corrections, and only one prior arrest, for not paying court fines in 2022.

Brodie Payne was in the Daviess detention center at the time he was charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering and not reporting a death in connection with Miya Rudd’s disappearance. On May 21, Payne was charged with first-degree drug trafficking for both meth and fentanyl, after he tried to retrieve a mailed package containing suspected meth. A sheriff’s office press release says other packages meant for Payne contained suspected fentanyl pills made to resemble Xanax.

Rudd, Payne and Smith are in the Daviess County Detention Center. Tesla Tucker is in the Ohio County Detention Center.