there has been no sign of relisha. deputy d.c. mayor for education, abigail smith said today they are recommending changes to agency systems like how to communicate better. the city bears no responsibility for relisha's tragic disappearance. >> there's nothing the government that could have prevented what was a tragic outco. the at same time, the mayor is very clear that we need to constantly work on improving the systems that we have in place and learning from what we see on the ground to be able to improve services for families moving forward. >> my issues with the school board is, if she missed school, why you didn't call our phone. that is your job requirement at the end of school if a child miss as school day. >> relisha's mother and her father have now decided, you have seen them in the past, they don't want their faces shown anymore. they are tired of being judged. they did not give custody to that custodian. they point to an aunt, because the child was sick in the shelter. they blame the school for not reporting the child

city agencies performed in relisha rudd's case.in summation it said that no justifiable government actions would have prevented relisha's tragic disappearance. why are you changing some things, doing some things differently if you've concluded there was nothing more you could have done? >> the review team looked carefully at all the facts of the case and determined in terms of the policies and procedures of district government that there's nothing the government could have done to have prevented what was a tragic outcome. at the same time the mayor is very clear that we need to constantly work on improving the systems that we have in place. >> reporter: the criminal probe into relisha's disappearance focused on khalil tatum, a custodian at the homeless shelter and his relationship with relisha and her family. reports say he was allowed to take the child to his home days at a time. she miss several days in school before her disappearance was discovered. while looking for relisha and tatum authorities found tatum's wife murdered in a

. >> and where is relisha rudd? a child taken from a homeless shelter only foot tip footstepse nation's capital and did washington, d.c. do everything it could to protect a little girl lost? >> and good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. add this hour there's -- at this hours there's increasing sign that president obama is ready to take a tougher line against the vishous shadowy -- vicious shad ohy islamic state. not only in iraq but syria where the militant fighters have found sanctuary. the pentagon has announced another 350 military personnel are being sent to baghdad. president obama says he will use a nato meeting in wales to press the allies to mount a campaign against the i.s. and just hours after the video of steven sotloff is genuine. >> whatever these murderers think they can achieve by killing innocent americans like steven they have already failed. they failed because like people around the world, americans are repulsed by their bar barrism, we will not be intimidated, their horrific acts onl

. >>> what happened to relisha? the d.c.ent has concluded there's nothing the city could have done to prevent relisha rud's disappearance -- rudd's disappearance six months ago from a family shelter. >> officials say the girl's family deliberately hid important information about her missing school and their relationship with the man they allowed to take her. >> we talked with her mother. she disagrees with d.c. >> i believe there's more she could have done. >> reporter: shamika young no longer wants her face shown. six months after their daughter's disappearance, they can no longer stand the criticism, the judgment of others. >> my issues with the school board is if she missed all that school, why didn't they call our phone. that is your job requirement. >> reporter: the d.c. government issued its report into how city agencies performed in relisha rudd's case n. summation it says no justifiable government actions would have prevented relisha's tragic disappearance. why are you changing things, doing things differently if you

and charges against relisha's mother and others were referred to the u.s. attorney's office. >> reporter: an investigation ordered by mater found city workers with the legal duty -- by the mayor found city workers with the legal duty to report child abuse or neglect failed to and that her school failed in the time required to follow up on more than 10 unexcused absences, but the report nonetheless concluded there was nothing more the city could do. >> you don't think that would have made a difference in the outcome of the welfare of this child? >> based on our review of the facts, no. >> reporter: the cinow is finally almost finished with the playground here at the homeless shelter where relisha rudd disappeared. the good news, the kids are finally going to have a place to play. the bad news say advocates, it is a distressing physical reminder that this dilapidated shelter that nearly everybody agrees needs to close will likely stay open for some time. in d.c., bruce leshan, wusa9. >>> we got it wrong, the words of roger goodell amid the growing controversy

. >> well now to the continuing saga of relisha rudd. yesterday we told you about that report, basically, exonerating d.c. officials of any blame for the disappearance of relisha six months ago. that same review of city agency found problems and policies that were in place that were not followed. bruce johnson spent the whole day going over those reports. >> yeah, absolutely right. this is a copy of the report. we got it late yesterday. not enough time to look at everything here and get some intelligent questions out. they say they couldn't have done anything for relisha rudd, but there are some things that suggest they can help other young people. city agency said it's a parent's responsibility to protect the child. nobody is going to disagree with that, but there are policies and guidelines that city agencies required to follow and some of that wasn't done, according to this report. >> so the people involved in our review team who spent many years working in this field view this case as an incredibly unusual one. >> an amber alert was

could have done more to save 8-year-old relisha rudd. she disappeared from a city homeless shelter six months ago. >> reporter: i'm bruce leshan in d.c. at the homeless shelter where relisha rudd disappeared. d.c. officials now say that they have referred charge against her mother to the u.s. attorney's office for potential prosecution. can you tell us anything about that? >> you'll have to talk to the u.s. attorney's office on that. >> reporter: sources have long said that a grand jury is looking into whether relisha's mother lied to investigators and made it harder for them to find her daughter, but this was the first time a city official suggested anything like that on the record. >> charges against relisha's mother and others were referred to the u.s. attorney's office. >> reporter: an investigation ordered by the mayor found city workers with the legal duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect failed to and that her school failed in the time required to follow up on more than 10 unexcused absences. >> you don't think that woul

as for relisha, she just doesn't know. has anything come up that you can share with us that they can give us some hope? some reason to believe she's out there somewhere? have you heard anything? >> i haven't heard anything, but i feel like they need to do more questioning to melissa young. gll we gave our daughter to melissa and our daughter was getting sick at the shelter, so we sent her to melissa, to stay at her aunt's house, and you know -- >> melissa turned her over to this guy. >> yes. >> okay, they are consistent. they said it before in the past that melissa, the mother's sister, relisha's aunt, they turned the child over to her and that's how the child ended up in tatum's care. we don't know where the police investigation is at this point and obviously, the city didn't address any of this. >> i talked to both of them before. one of the first things, they were told to lawyer up, you know, so makes you wonder where the police investigation is in all of this as well. >> the city has the three sons that the mom has. th

. >> we are still asking questions about the relisha rudd report.he mayor is in the hot seat about the homeless girl no vanished. > and look at this face. police want women to pay attention to their surroundings. why they want this man off the streets. >> and have u heard the new iphone is already breaking records? we're going to find out why some apple fans are not happy. . >>> right now at 5:30, dramatic developments after the death of joan rivers. we'll tell you about the shakeup at the clinic where the comedienne stopped breathing. >>> plus, crafty crooks? could be stealing your pin. consumer reporter erika gonzales will expose their scheme so you can protect your money. >>> and a little fan with a big heart outshines alex ovechkin on the ice. >> i think i will crush on him. >>> but first at 5:30, new reaction from the mayor on a report that shows the city agencies could not have prevented the disappearance of 8-year-old rel rudd. >> in an exclusive interview with mark segraves, mayor gray defended the findings. >> the long-awaited report on rel

city officials say the police have referred charges against relisha rudd's mom to the u.s. attorney for potential prosecution. sources also say a grand jury will meet and could indict her mom if they find she lied to investigators and delayed their efforts to find the little girl. >>> election day is in about six weeks. one race that has not received much attention was in the spotlight today. >> today i was moderator of the battleground forum featuring senator mark warner the incumbent and ed gillespie. we'll take a closer look what the they had to say, but first here's virginia reporter peggy fox on the race for that senate seat. >> reporter: the senate gave overwhelming approval on thursday to the training and arming of syrian rebels. senator mark warner supported the measure. >> this has to be more than an american struggle. we need the iraqis to step up and defend their own country in an inclusive way. we need those gulf states not to just put forward dollars, but to actually have some skin in the game. >> reporter: his opponent, republican ed gillespie, wants more cong

. >>> who dropped the ball in the relisha rudd case? that was the focus of a contentious hearing in d.c. today. tonight, city leaders are taking a second look at how they handled the case of the little girl who disappeared from a city homeless shelter earlier this year. news4's mark segraves has more. >> reporter: the deputy mayor defended the district over and over again, saying they did all they could, despite acknowledging some d.c. employees knew of abuse and did not report it. >> you don't think that would have made a difference in the outcome of the welfare of this child? >> yeah, based upon our review of the facts, no. >> reporter: the one bit of information the deputy mayor did provide had to do with the criminal investigation. >> we continue to investigate relis relisha's disappearance. and charges against relisha's mother and others were referred to the u.s. attorney's office. >> reporter: after the hearing, graham renewed his concerns. >> you know, these folks appear to have no accountability whatsoever in terms of those on t

officials have referred charges against the mother of relisha rudd to the u.s.ttorney's office for a potential prosecution. 8-year-old relisha rudd disappeared from a city homeless shelter six months ago and sources have long said a grand jury has been looking into whether the child's mom lied to investigators making it more difficult for police to investigate. meanwhile an investigation ordered by the mayor has found the city employees with the legal duty to respect suspecting child abuse or neglect failed to do so in relisha's case. >>> volunteers will gather tomorrow morning at seneca valley high school in germantown to help search for two missing toddlers. 2-year-old jacob and 3-year-old sarah hoggle have been missing nearly two weeks now. their father troy turner is organizing the 8 a.m. search. the children's mom catherine hoggle suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and is now in police custody but refuses to tell detectives what happened to her children. >>> have you ever wished you had a way to track your child's every move? there's an app for that. we'll

in.his just the family of relisha rudd recommends policy changes. the review concluded none of the reforms could have prevented her disappearance. family provided misleading of the -- information. relisha rudd was seen in the company of a janitor. tatum committed suicide. chris browny from inside of a courtroom today. he didn't speak to the media or fans of he pleaded guilty to assault for an incident outside of the w hotel. live with what the singer apologized for. >> today the judge said to chris firmly, i could give you 180 days in jail regardless of the clean deal. you punched another human being while you are on probation. in the end the judge said you have suffered consequences and i'm going to go along with this. pleading guilty to one count of simple assault, chris brown got to do what he did after this morning's 20 minute court hearing. walk away. >> he is pleased with the outcome. wants to focus on his career. >> he said i am sorry, i am really sorry. brown and his bodyguard were afterd of punching a fan, the 20-year-old tried to take a pi

you have any information on the whereabouts of relisha, please call 911 immediately. the fbi is offering a $25,000 reward. >>> a proposed gun range near sugar loaf mountain is getting negative kickback from nearby residents and a contentious public hearing is expected to fire people up again tomorrow. >> reporter: i'm scott broom in frederick county, maryland, where more than 300 people turned out at a recent hearing to oppose a controversial shooting range proposal in the shadow of sugar loaf mountain where noise like this is not welcome. [ gunshots ] >> we will hear constant gunfire. >> we would have to move. that is for sure and that would break my heart. >> it's all about property rights. >> reporter: frederick county commission member billy shreeve says whether you are for or against the gun range, the reis zoning here allows it on properties many times smaller than the 300-acre spread where range developers intend to install sound baffles and keep much of the shooting indoors. >> this will be the most advanced facility for firearms training in the state. >> repo

. >> coming up, outrage over a report that says the kid napping of 8-year-old relisha rudd from a d.c. homeless shelter was unvoidable. >> protecting women from date rape drugs but they come with a warning. >> we find out why people find it necessary to stand in line for hours or days just to get a phone. >> we are going to look at the line to ditch football jerseys tied to a man accused of punching his fiance. we'll be right back. and issue of a a.t.v.'s dirt bikes on city streets. coming up in just a moment, we o full circle wi >> new information now in a story you'll see only on 7. tonight, dirt bike riders are defending themselves against accusations that they terrorize pedestrians in the district. >> this issue came to a head when a dirt bike rider hit a woman, seriously injuring her and then fled. jennifer donnelly is live with new details from both sides here. >> that's right. we spoke to the police chief. we'll get to her reaction in just a moment. for the first time we're hearing from the a.t.v. and dirt bike riders themselves. abc 7 news obtained this cell phone video. a roa

. >> not since relisha rudd disappeared has our bring it home campaign been more timely. we just told you about the search for hannah graham. plus we have montgomery county police searching for the hoggle children and developments in the cold case disappearance of the sisters. we'll get to both those stories in just a minute. for the next hour and a half you're going to see pictures of other children missing from our area on the right side of your screen. we also have digital flyers on our wusa9 facebook page. so log on, take a look, and maybe you can help bring them home. >>> 2-year-old jacob and 3-year- old sarah have been missing for more than a week now. police, family members, volunteers have been searching relentlessly ever since. but she will not say where her children are. joining us now to talk about this case is jacob and sarah's father. thank you for being here this evening. we know volunteers have been out every day with you, desperately searching for your babies as we know you're holding on to hope that they will be back home and safe soon, but is it harder f

agencies did everything they could to prevent relisha from disappearing. however the same report found policies which were in place were not followed. d.c. government officials plan to testify on these findings today. >>> the centers forker disease control and prudential -- for disease control and prevention confirms it was bacterial meningitis that killed student. andrea jamie was a 19-year-old sophomore. bacterial meningitis can be spread through close personal contact such as coughing, sharing drinks or kissing. georgetown says it's contacting students and staff who might have had close contact with andrea so they can receive antibiotics. >>> the nfl works to try and improve its image on and off the field. >> and the buccaneers get handed one of the worst losses in recent memory. there was also a record set too. wusa9 is back right after this. >>> welcome back. 6:08 on this fed morning. nice -- friday morning. nice friday morning. temperatures mainly in the 50s #w a few low 60s. you might need a light jacket. partly to mostly sunny just a chance we'll s

those are the findings of a review into the disappearance of relisha rudd.sing six months ago and has her been found. police believe she was taken by kalil tatum who worked as a janitor at her homeless shelter. a 12 page review of the case found agencies did everything they were supposed to do leading up to her disappearance. but the report also recommended better coordination and training for social worker, public school officials and staff at the d.c. general shelter. the report says there were several instances where professionals mandated to report known or suspected child abuse failed to act. >>> we've learned the 9-year-old girl who accidently shot and killed her instructor said the uzi was, quote, too much for her and hurt her shoulder. that is according to the sheriff's report. the 39-year-old man was standing next to the girl at a firing range in arizona. the report notes when the girl pulled the trigger, the gun went over her head. at first the family did not realize the instructor had been shot. they say they are devastated by the accident during

. >> today district of columbia police searched a marshy section of kenilworth park for relisha rudd.t sheold abc 7 news found a piece of paper with children's writing on it. d.c. police need your help finding the hit-and-run driver who killed a man after 3:00 this morning on georgia avenue, northwest. 26-year-old derricka hale of northeast was crossing the street when the vehicle struck him and he later died at the hospital. the vehicle is described as a four door that's dark in color, possibly a chrysler with stop chrome wheels and damage on the driver's side. new information on the three murders in alexandria. three circuit court judges have recused themselves from the case citing a conflict of interest. a judge will now be ape pointed. severance is charges with murders. he's expected to be transported from loudoun county tomorrow. he could appear in court on tuesday. and out of the hospital tonight a day after complaining of shortness of breath at saturday's star spangled spectacular at fort mchenry. the 44-year-old man was taken to the hospital. rollins blake released a statement

. >>> a report detailing the disappearance of relisha rudd and the weeks that lead up to that disappearancewill get a second look tomorrow. d.c. council member jim graham is holding a hearing on that report. he has grave concerns about the findings. the council has been critical in the report for being lenient with the agents that interacted with rudd's family before she went missing. that was more than six months ago. >>> tonight, members of congress are going home until after election day. the u.s. senate before they left passed president obama's plan to fight isis by arming and training syrian rebels. the vote came hours after a deadly isis plot was broken up in australia. >> reporter: an isis suspect far from iraq in australia. sydney, industrial. police are holding six people who got orders from a senior isis leader to behead random australia. >> to conduct demonstration killings here in this country. >> reporter: the u.s. faces that danger, say federal officials. >> that americans will take u.s. passports after fighting with isis, after training with isis, to come back and commit unsp

council raises serious questions whether the district did everything it could to protect relisha rudd> a really nice weekend in store but a cold front on the way to bring the fall-like feel back into the first alert seven- day forecast. >> you won't see these ravens fans sporting ray rice jerseys on this purple friday. >>> people saw hannah and people saw him and people saw them together. and it's entirely possible we believe that hannah graham may have gotten into his vehicle. >> a passionate plea to the public as investigators continue the search for a local uva student who has now been missing nearly a week. i'm jan jeffcoat. >> i'm derek mcginty. today investigators said hannah graham was seen leaving in a man's vehicle and they are sure that several other people saw it happen as well on a busy friday night. >> he is a new person of interest and surae chinn joins us live from charlottesville, virginia, where police unveil this new turn in the case, a very revealing news conference there. >> reporter: it was, jan and derek. they know who this person is. they know his name. they eve

. >> it's been six months since relisha rudd disappeared and the man suspected of kidnapping her killed wife and himself. now d.c. officials say nothing could have prevented it. a 12-page review found district agencies did everything they were supposed to do leading up to the day the 8-year-old was reported missing. it also suggested improvements could be made with how the city handles homeless children. the report recommends better coordination and training for social workers, d.c. public schools and staff at the shelter where the suspect workeded. the report says, quote, there were several instances where professionals mandated to report are known or suspected child abuse failed to act. >> the centers for disease control says the ebola outbreak is spreading faster than any effort to stop it. tonight, another american has contracted the deadly virus. the mission group serving in mission says the doctor was treating women in the obstetrics ward of a liberian hospital. it's a separate ward from where ebola patients were treated. this is where dr. brant lly contracted the disease. tonight

. >>> plus, the disappearance of 8-year-old relisha rudd. whether the district could have done something to prevent it. >>> why the most extreme measures may not be the best in the fight against breast cancer. stay with us, w >>> check out this time lapse we put together. storms rolled in and out last night, bringing rain and lightning, but things will look different today, even though it will be another hot one. i guess we're not going to see the same kind of weather we had last night. it was kind of scary actually, the sky got so dark. >> it really did and some dramatic clouds came rolling on through. we didn't really have a lot of damage, some isolated tree limbs came down mainly north of the metro area. now we just have clouds around and it is still quite humid. there's a live view from our storm team 4 capital camera overlooking upper senate park. and there you can see the fountain has been turned off it looks like and they have got the trees there still looking very green. here we are into september, but a month from now those trees wi

but in the relisha rud case, an 8-year-old girl who is still missing and hopefully not dead, police were searching for kahlil tatum who subsequently was found dead himself. he made it to the ten most wanted list of the f.b.i. how does a person, a suspect, get elevated to that level of search? >> well, he wasn't ten most wanted but was definitely on our most wanled list. basic -- wanted list. basically what happens with that, we ask the u.s. attorney's office for a warrant and it allows us to bring in every resource we have. it then becomes a federal case. we have the ability to do billboards and we work with media and we have a national network of media reps who reach out to local individuals -- not local individuals but local communities and things like that so we have the ability to sort of shine a light on that case in a way that most local police departments don't have. so we get people to see those photos and the pictures as quickly as possible so that we can find these people. >> the bureau also has a program called the child abduction rapid deployment program, and that again shows

and charges against relisha's mother and others were referred to the u.s. attorney's office. >> reporter: and a d.c. school employee did violate d.c. law by not reporting that relisha rudd had missed ten days of classes without an excuse. >> while that ten days absolutely is a line we want to draw very clearly for school staff, it wouldn't have changed the situation here. >> reporter: graham argued, it's impossible to know if reporting her missing from school would have prevented her disappearance. and he pointed out, at least police could have started to search for her sooner. >> maybe there was -- maybe there would have been a fresher trail of where she went or something of that nature. because this still was about seven days lost. >> reporter: in the end, the deputy mayors argued relisha rudd and all those living in a d.c. shelter -- >> we want to go back to our top story, breaking news, and police have gathered around that podium now. chief timothy longo in the search for hannah graham. >> developed information and use that information in support of a s