'We just want to find her': Parents of missing Lansing toddler Wynter Smith plead for help

Frank Witsil, Krystal Nurse, Nour Rahal and Jasmin Barmore, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·6 min read
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In a desperate plea for help Wednesday, the mother and father of toddler Wynter Cole Smith, whose Amber Alert this week triggered a groundswell of support and concern, said they were hopeful searches would turn up clues — or better yet, their daughter.

"We just want to find her," Wynter's dad, Almount Smith, told the Free Press. Her mom, Symari Cole, was nearby.

Wynter Cole Smith, 2, was last seen on July 2, 2023, in Lansing.
Wynter Cole Smith, 2, was last seen on July 2, 2023, in Lansing.

The parents invited the public to join a sweep for the child by volunteers in Lathrup Village — an Oakland County suburb where law enforcement suspect the 26-year-old man, Rashad Trice, may have once lived and took the toddler, before he was arrested Monday in St. Clair Shores.

Now, Wynter's loved ones, investigators and others are racing against the clock to find the missing 2-year-old who police said was wearing a T-shirt with a rainbow when she appeared to have been abducted from her Lansing home. There's also some concern the little girl may no longer be in Michigan.

"Wynter could be anywhere," said Derrica Wilson, co-founder of Black and Missing Foundation, a national nonprofit organization which aims to is to bring awareness to missing persons of color. "Just because she's missing from Michigan doesn't mean she's still in Michigan."

Lansing residents Synquiss Antes, 31, left, Mackenzie Winton, 27, and Emanuel Winton, 32, talk with volunteers about areas they plan to canvass before departing to search for missing toddler Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.
Lansing residents Synquiss Antes, 31, left, Mackenzie Winton, 27, and Emanuel Winton, 32, talk with volunteers about areas they plan to canvass before departing to search for missing toddler Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.

Meanwhile, Trice — who police said had attacked Cole, 22, before he might have left with the child — was charged with assault with intent to murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree home invasion, unlawful imprisonment, second offense aggravated domestic violence, unlawful driving away and felonious assault.

Police, groups search various areas

Police searched roadway shoulders and wooded areas Wednesday in Lansing, as volunteer groups tried to organize searches in metro Detroit — Lathrup Village, Southfield, Detroit, and St. Clair Shores — where authorities believe Wynter may have been taken.

By about 2 p.m., TV trucks were parked in front of Wynter's home, in the 3000 block of BeauJardin Drive, hoping to interview Cole, who police said Trice, her ex-boyfriend, had stabbed several times. She had been taken to the hospital, treated and released.

Outside her apartment, there were lawn chairs and toys.

Police said, Trice likely left with the toddler in a stolen car, a white, 2013 Chevrolet Impala.

Children’s equipment is seen outside of an apartment where Rashad Trice, 26, is accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith, 2, on Sunday night after stabbing and assaulting her mother at their home in the 3000 block of BeauJardin Drive in the Towne Square Apartments and Townhomes in Lansing.
Children’s equipment is seen outside of an apartment where Rashad Trice, 26, is accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith, 2, on Sunday night after stabbing and assaulting her mother at their home in the 3000 block of BeauJardin Drive in the Towne Square Apartments and Townhomes in Lansing.

"We just want Wynter home safe," Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee and FBI Acting Special Agent Devin Kowalski said Tuesday, during the holiday, in a joint news conference at Lansing City Hall as they sought information and updated the public about what they were doing.

Law enforcement upped the reward Tuesday to $25,000 for information leading to Wynter's whereabouts — and looked for Wynter's tiny body using specially trained dogs, police helicopters and aerial drones. The community searches, they hoped, might uncover more clues — or anything that could help.

How the investigation unfolded

Swift action, experts have said, is essential.

Synquiss Antes, 31, left, and Mackenzie Winton, 27, both of Lansing, talk with volunteers about areas they plan to canvass while searching for missing toddler Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.
Synquiss Antes, 31, left, and Mackenzie Winton, 27, both of Lansing, talk with volunteers about areas they plan to canvass while searching for missing toddler Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.

More than 50 people Wednesday signed up to help through the Dock Ellis Foundation, which is coordinating searches with the family and law enforcement, the organization said. Nationally, the foundation assists in searches for missing people, particularly racial minorities.

And hundreds more have responded, if nothing else, on social media by offering words of support to the child's family, calling the toddler a "beautiful little girl" and "sweet baby" — and asking God to keep her safe and be with her.

Mackenzie Winton, 27, of Lansing, shows a route on her cellphone that volunteer crews will canvass while searching for Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.
Mackenzie Winton, 27, of Lansing, shows a route on her cellphone that volunteer crews will canvass while searching for Wynter Cole Smith, 2, outside of the Lathrup Village Police Department on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Smith was kidnapped from her Lansing home on July 2.

More: Amber Alert issued for Lansing toddler, 2: What we know

Lansing police first issued an Amber Alert for the toddler at about 2 a.m. Monday, waking up people all over the state, and making national news. In addition to wearing the white shirt with the rainbow, police said Wynter is Black with braided, shoulder-length hair.

At about 6 a.m., however, Trice and the vehicle were spotted in St. Clair Shores. The toddler was not with him.

St. Clair Shores said officers tried to stop the Impala, but Trice fled. Trice, authorities added, was arrested later, after a brief chase that ended near Little Mack and 10 Mile roads when he crashed the car into a police vehicle. Trice was hospitalized, and later arraigned at the hospital.

Trice's mother, Shontayzia Trice, told WDIV-TV (Channel 4) on Wednesday that she believed her son was innocent.

Since the Amber Alert, police have been asking for more and more help from the public, and have threatened to charge anyone who might have a role in hiding the child from authorities, saying on social media that "we need everyone to be moving in the same direction."

Signs are seen posted on doors in the building outside of an apartment where Rashad Trice, 26, is accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith, 2, on Sunday night after stabbing and assaulting her mother at their home in the 3000 block of BeauJardin Drive in the Towne Square Apartments and Townhomes in Lansing.
Signs are seen posted on doors in the building outside of an apartment where Rashad Trice, 26, is accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith, 2, on Sunday night after stabbing and assaulting her mother at their home in the 3000 block of BeauJardin Drive in the Towne Square Apartments and Townhomes in Lansing.

Antonio Grimaldi, 21, who lives in an apartment next to Wynter, said Wednesday he was not near his home when the incident unfolded. He came back home after 10 p.m. He often saw Wynter playing outside, drawing on the pavement with chalk. When he arrived home Sunday, he added, police were interviewing others. Another one of Wynter's neighbors, Jesenia Roman said she sometimes saw Trice when she would go outside to walk her dogs. And just before the stabbing, he had requested to follow her on Facebook. She added it was not the first time he had asked.

"I know I shouldn’t have been texting back," Roman told the Free Press on Wednesday, with her phone and messages in hand. "But I was just confused and wondering how he found me on Facebook. He said I was suggested to him but I don’t believe that."

Desperate for search clues

Authorities have released on social media the route Trice likely took to metro Detroit in hopes that someone saw him, his car, or the missing little girl, and Lansing's police chief asked the public to be alert when traveling along Interstate 96 and roads in metro Detroit.

An initial alert, as with all Amber Alerts, was delivered by text message, and on radio and TV, through the emergency alert system. The reason: the quicker alerts go out, even in the wee hours of the morning, the better chance the public has to report to police anything they might know.

The Amber Alert — created in memory of Amber Rene Hagerman, a girl who was kidnapped and killed in 1996 — also is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

Still, the number of missing kids appears to be on the rise. In 2022, there were 359,094 entries for missing children in America, up from 337,195 the year before, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. But, experts said, there's some hope: In general, the likelihood of finding missing kids tends to be high.

In social media comments under the police updates, one person suggested trying to get in the suspect's head: "It’s dark and he’s irrational making moment to moment panicked decisions. He needed a place that was off the beaten path but still convenient to get to."

Scores of others said they hoped Wynter would be found soon, offering their prayers.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 517-483-4600 or Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wynter Smith's parents plead for help in search for Lansing toddler