FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 19, 2003
WBC Cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite will help in
the search for a missing Florida girl by wearing her picture to the ring for his
upcoming televised fight.
Braithwaite, 27, will defend his title February 21 on ESPN 2’s Friday Night
Fights against Ravea Springs. On his way to the ring, the cruiserweight champion
will wear the picture of Ta’Nyiah Monique Leonard, a one-year-old girl missing
from Bartow. Members of Braithwaite’s training crew will also be wearing the
Ta’Nyiah’s pictures.
Ta’Nyiah is African-American, has pierced ears and light birthmark on her right leg. Her hair is black with red tint and her nickname is Nye Nye.
Braithwaite, 18-0 with 15 knockouts, got involved when approached by light heavyweight boxer Derrick Harmon, who serves on the board of directors for Child Protection Education of America (CPEA). Harmon has worn pictures of missing children before his televised fights.
CPEA is a national nonprofit missing children organization based in Tampa, Fl., that assists parents and law enforcement officers involved with missing child cases by offering free photograph distribution in a variety of ways. The nonprofit also provides safety education for children and adults, including its digital fingerprinting program, called ID ME NOW.
For more information about CPEA, see their Web site at www.find-missing-children.org. Pictures of the children are available from the Web site.
Anyone with information on the Ta’Nyiah Leonard case should call the Bartow Police Department at 863-534-5034 or Child Protection Education of America at 1-866-USA-CHILD.
Contact:
Don Smith
Director of Public Relations
Toll-free: 1-866-USA-CHILD