The families of Florida's missing children gathered at the state's capital Monday to place a single rose next to their loved one's picture in a ceremony to remember and honor all the missing children.
Each year, thousands of children are reported missing in Florida. Most of them quickly return home, but some do not.
Florida’s 25th annual Missing Children’s Day ceremony was held in Tallahassee Monday, remembering kids who were kidnapped and killed, as well as others who have not yet been found.
Families of missing children each put a rose next to a photo of their loved one, during a somber ceremony.
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“This is always a tough day, but it’s also a healing day," said Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Mark Glass. "These families come together, whether it’s the first time to this event or they’ve been here for years. This is a much-needed day for them.”
During the ceremony, awards were presented to students for essays and drawings. Several law enforcement officers and police dogs were also honored for stopping potential kidnappings across the state.
There are currently eight AMBER Alerts and two missing child alerts in Florida.
The following are children that have been lost to their families:
- Jimmy Ryce in 1995
- Amanda Brown in 1998
- Coralrose Fullwood in 2006
- Somer Thompson in 2009
- Morgan Martin in 2012
- Felecia Williams in 2014
- Jabez Spann in 2017
- Tristyn Bailey in 2021
- Demiah Appling in 2022
The following are loved ones that are still missing:
- Jonathan Hagans since 1968
- Tiffany Sessions since 1989
- Lurline Bergeron since 1991
- Wendy Hudakoc since 1998
- Zachary Bernhardt since 2000
- Mark Degner & Bryan Hayes since 2005
- Ali Gilmore since 2006
- Trenton Duckett since 2006
- Bryan Dossantos-Gomes since 2006
- Haleigh Cummings since 2009
The day holds special significance to the Ryce family who lost their son 28 years ago.
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On September 11, 1995, Jimmy Ryce was abducted, raped and murdered getting off of his school bus on his way home and his parents, Don and Claudine, led a massive search to find their son.
Months later, Jimmy's killer was caught, sentenced and 20 years later was executed.
The Ryce family established the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction, to honor their son’s memory, and the organization has since donated nearly 700 bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies.
