More than 400 cyclists will pedal about 100 miles to raise awareness for missing and exploited children. The 12th annual Ride for Missing Children kicked off Friday morning at the Troop D State Police headquarters in Oneida.
The ride will travel 102 miles through Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer counties and finish at the New Hartford Recreation Center around 7:00 Friday night.
This ride began back in 1993, and every year all the participants help raise money to help make posters of missing children. Since that year, more than five million posters of close to 4,000 missing children have been printed in the Mohawk Valley to help bring home more than 2,000 missing kids.
More than 400 bicyclists are riding more than 100 miles to raise awareness for missing and exploited children. The 12th annual Ride for Missing Children kicked off Friday morning at the Troop D State Police headquarters in Oneida. Brad Vivacqua reports.
Organizers said it all started with one missing child.
"We were asked to take the love and dedication that was shown in the search of one missing child, and extend it beyond our borders to all missing children. Four hundred eleven riders, 247 volunteers, that's what this community is made of," said organizer Frank Williams.
As the tour made its way through Kirkland cyclists passed the Byrne Dairy store where New Hartford Police Officer Joseph Corr was killed. As riders went by two by two, members of the State Police and the Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band played a musical tribute.
Officer Corr's family was in attendance for the tribute and his sister Kelly is riding in the tour. She said it gives her a special feeling to have two purposes for riding in the event.
“We’re just very lucky that he’s honored and loved as well as he is in this community,” said Kelly Corr.
Joseph Corr served as an honorary guard in the 2004 Ride for Missing Children.
The cyclists will stop at 17 schools to preach a message to kids to say no to strangers.