(WWJ) St. Clair Shores police have arrested a man connected to an Amber Alert out of the Lansing area.
Rashad Maleek Trice, 26, was arrested Monday morning, according to police, but 2-year old Wynter Cole Smith is still missing and the FBI has now joined the search to find her.
St. Clair Shores police officers were on routine patrol when they identified the suspected kidnapper in their city Monday morning.
Officials said the child was not with Trice when he was taken into custody in St. Clair Shores, after he crashed a Chevy Impala head-on into a police car near 10 Mile Rd. and Little Mack.
A police officer involved in the crash was taken to a hospital, but is expected to be OK, WWJ's Charlie Langton reported.
Wynter was last seen Sunday at around 11:30 p.m. in south Lansing when it's believed she was taken by the suspect, according to investigators.
Police were called to her mother's home in Lansing late Sunday night, where they found she had been stabbed and assaulted, allegedly by Trice, according to the missing child's grandmother, Sharen Eddings, who spoke with WWJ's Ryan Marshall.
Authorities say Trice had a relationship with the 22-year-old woman, but Wynter is not his biological daughter, according Eddings.
The woman was said to be in stable condition and receiving treatment at a hospital, according to Lansing police.
The missing child is described as a Black female with braided, shoulder-length hair, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She was last seen wearing white t-shirt with rainbows.
In an update late Monday afternoon, Lansing police officials said search efforts are continuing in what remains "a very active search and investigation."
"In any case like this, we need everyone to be moving in the same direction, particularly the family, the community, and law enforcement. As a reminder, anyone who is found assisting the suspect in an effort to hide the victim will be subject to potential criminal charges," a post on the department's Facebook page said.
"Finally, we would like to remind the public not to spread rumors on social media about the search for Wynter," Lansing police officials said, noting the most up-to-date information about the intensive search for Wynter will be released on the FBI Detroit Facebook page and the LPD social media pages.
Anyone who has seen Wynter, or who has any information is asked to call the Lansing Police Department at 517-483-4600 or Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867.
Detroit police officials on Monday afternoon said the suspect was seen driving the white Impala in the city between 1-5 a.m. and the department is asking anyone who may have seen him or Wynter to call 313-596-2260.
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