Police in Alabama are turning to a landfill in the tragic search for a 2-year-old girl who has been missing for months and is believed to have been killed by her mother, then stuffed into a bag and trashed on Christmas.
Little Genesis Reid was first reported missing on Feb. 16, but authorities alleged that she was killed by her mother at their apartment in Enterprise, Alabama, more than a month earlier on Dec. 25, according to a press release from the city officials.
Adrienne Reid, Genesis’ mom, was arrested in March and faces a capital murder charge and abuse of a corpse in connection with her daughter’s death.
Authorities obtained surveillance video showing Reid tossing a duffel bag they believe contained Genesis’ tiny body into a dumpster just before midnight on Christmas Day, Enterprise Police Chief Michael Moore said.
Two days later, the camera captured Reid returning to the same dumpster while carrying toys and other items police believe belonged to the tot, the release said.
Moore announced at a press conference Wednesday that his department will partner with other agencies to parse through the sprawling Coffee County landfill starting in early May in hopes of dredging up Genesis’ body, or what is left of it.
“This will be a physically, emotionally and mentally demanding operation, and may extend for several weeks,” Moore warned.
He estimated the search could take up to nine weeks solely due to the sheer size of the landfill, though he didn’t specify how large the search area is.
Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd previously surmised the search area at the landfill was narrowed down to a “200 feet by 100 feet, 8 to 10 feet deep in refuse,” according to the release.
Byrd added that the duffel was likely compacted three times and “processed further with bulldozers” before it was deposited into the landfill.
Up to 60 search personnel and other support staff will cycle through the landfill daily, according to Moore.
The site will be closed for the duration of the search, primarily to preserve “the integrity of this search area,” Moore said.
Reid is scheduled to be arraigned on August 6. She was separately charged with making false statements to officers when she first reported Genesis missing in February.
Coffee County District Attorney James Tarbox promised to seek the death penalty in the case.
“Her conduct speaks for itself and I believe this preliminary decision to seek the death penalty conforms to our community’s beliefs about this case and our shared values about how we value and seek to protect the most innocent among us, our children,” Tarbox said.
Authorities still haven’t identified Genesis’ cause of death.
