DC General homeless shelter closes down for good

WASHINGTON - Three years ago, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in her first State of the District speech that she would shut down the D.C. General Family Shelter. On Tuesday, Bowser came to the homeless shelter in Southeast D.C. to help close it down for good.

The shuttering of the former hospital turned shelter for homeless families is part of Bowser's plan to open several replacement homeless shelters across the city.

Troubled D.C. General gained attention after the disappearance of 8-year-old Relisha Rudd in 2014. She lived at the shelter with her family.

Rudd was last seen on surveillance video with a janitor who worked at D.C. General, but her body has never been found despite numerous searches by authorities over the years. The janitor committed suicide after she went missing.

FOX 5 has previously reported on poor living conditions along with an apparent open air drug market seen at the shelter.

"This shelter is too big, too old and rundown, and too remote to help our most vulnerable families," Bowser tweeted. "In a city as prosperous as ours, we can do better. Today, we made good on our promise. We closed DC General once and for all."