About this episode

The episode discusses the disappearance of Relisha Rudd and the advocacy for missing people of color.

In this bonus episode of Truer Crime, we return to the disappearance of eight-year-old Relisha Rudd. In 2014, Relisha vanished from a Washington, D.C. homeless shelter. She was not officially reported missing for eighteen days. More than a decade later, she has never been found. I’m joined by Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson, co-founders of the Black and Missing Foundation, to discuss their two-part YouTube docuseries, The Vanishing of Relisha Rudd: A Cold Case Re-examined, and the broader patterns that shape cases like hers. We talk about media disparities, reporting delays, public alert systems that aren’t always activated, and what it means to advocate for missing people of color inside systems that don’t respond equally. To learn more about the Black and Missing Foundation or watch the docuseries: bamfi.org hwb5k.org Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Keep up with us through our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Truer Crime Substack Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sincerely…

People in this episode

Host: Celisia Stanton

Guests: Derrica Wilson, Natalie Wilson

Topics covered

• missing persons
• media disparities
• advocacy
• racial inequality
• cold cases
• public alert systems

Keywords

• Relisha Rudd
• missing people of color
• Black and Missing Foundation
• advocacy
• media coverage
• Washington D.C.
• cold case
• disparities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Black and Missing Foundation

Books & works: The Vanishing of Relisha Rudd: A Cold Case Re-examined

Places: Washington, D.C.

More episodes of Truer Crime

• Nobody Should Believe Me - S7 E1: The Catalyst · April 27, 2026 · 57 min
• When True Crime Becomes A Place You Can Visit · January 26, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Did the Government Kill Martin Luther King Jr.? · January 19, 2026 · 1h 7m
• Jennifer Kirk + Sue Sue Norton Part 2 · January 12, 2026 · 31 min
• Jennifer Kirk Part 1 · January 5, 2026 · 39 min
• Natalee Holloway Part 2 · December 8, 2025 · 33 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Truer Crime podcast page.