“Have
A Heart For Missing Children” Walk
What:
“Have A Heart For Missing Children” walk to raise awareness about the
missing children’s issue and recognize Florida Missing Children’s Day,
September 9
Who:
Child Protection Education of America, other Florida missing children
organizations and parents of missing children
When:
September 4-9, 2002
Where:
Major Florida cities including Tampa, Zephyrhills, Clearwater, Orlando,
Ocala and Tallahassee (see attached schedule)
Details:
Over six days, parents of missing children from Florida as well as
representatives from Child Protection Education of America, A Child Is Missing,
Child Watch of North America, Missing Children Center, Jimmy Ryce Center,
Suncoast Missing Children Project, and Voice for the Children will walk through
several major cities on their way to participate in the Governor’s recognition
ceremony September 9
Contact
Don Smith
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 813-626-3001 (in
office through Tuesday)
Phone: 813-758-1876 (cell)
“Have
A Heart For Missing Children” Walk – Day 1
Tampa,
Zephyrhills and Clearwater
September
4, 2002
8:30
a.m. – Kick-off
press conference in Tampa at CPEA Office, 410 Ware Blvd, Suite 710
9:30
a.m. – Start
walk behind Walgreen’s, 128 E. Brandon Boulevard (see exact route below)
11:30
a.m. – Travel to
Zephyrhills
12
p.m. –
Start walk at Times Square in Zephyrhills (see exact route below)
2 p.m.
–
Free lunch at Fraternal Order of Eagles, 33710 S.R. 54 West
3 p.m.
–
Drive to Clearwater
4 p.m.
–
Start walk at Cliff Stevens Park from Fairwood (see exact route below)
7 p.m. – Drive to Orlando to stay at Best Western – Airport, 8101 Air Center Court, Orlando, FL, Phone: 407-581-2800
Walk route for Brandon
Walk S.R.
60 to Parsons Avenue to Clay to Kingsway to Sadie to Parsons to S.R. 60
See attached map for Brandon route
Walk route for Zephyrhills
From Times Square to 5th Avenue to 7th Street to 12th Avenue to 20th Street to 5th Avenue to Times Square
See attached map for Zephyrhills route
Walk route for Clearwater
From
Fairwood to Drew Street and back to Fairwood
Contact:
Don Smith
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 813-626-3001 (in
office through Tuesday)
Phone: 813-758-1876 (cell)
“Have
A Heart For Missing Children” Walk – Day 2
Orlando
September
5, 2002
10 a.m.
–
Press conference at Best Western – Airport, 8101 Air Center Court,
Orlando, FL, Phone: 407-581-2800
10:30 a.m. – Start walk from West Miller Street, just east of Sligh Boulevard
(see exact route
below)
2 p.m. –
Lunch (location undetermined)
3 p.m. – Drive to Ocala – Stay at Best Western, 3701 SW 38th Ave., Ocala, FL, Phone: 352-237-4848
From West Miller Street to Sligh Boulevard to Columbia
Street to Orange Avenue to Delaney to Cherokee to Woodland Avenue to Lake Davis
Drive to East Gore Street to South Bumby to East Michigan to South Primrose to
East Central to North Graham to East Jefferson to North Bumby to East Central to
South Hyer to East Church to South Summerlin to Delaney Park Drive to Delaney
Avenue to East Copeland Drive to Fernwood Street to Orange Avenue
Contact:
Don Smith
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 813-626-3001 (in
office through Tuesday)
Phone: 813-758-1876 (cell)
“Have
A Heart For Missing Children” Walk – Day 3
Ocala
September
6, 2002
10 a.m. – Press conference in Ocala at Marion County Sheriff Headquarters,
692 Northwest 30th
Avenue
10:30 a.m. –
Walk around Marion County Sheriff’s Complex
1 p.m. –
Lunch (location undetermined)
2 p.m. –
Interviews with families of missing children for media
The group will stay in Ocala at the same hotel before
traveling to Gainesville the next morning.
Contact:
Don Smith
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 813-626-3001 (in
office through Tuesday)
Phone: 813-758-1876 (cell)
“Have
A Heart For Missing Children” Walk – Days 4, 5 and 6
Gainesville
and Tallahassee
September
7, 2002
7:30 a.m. –
Drive to Gainesville
9 a.m. –
Press conference in Gainesville at Victims Park (also known as Squirrel
Ridge Park), 1603 Southwest Williston Road
9:30 a.m. –
Start walk from Victims Park (see exact route below)
11 a.m. –
Drive past Florida State Prison in Starke
1 p.m. –
Lunch (location undetermined)
2 p.m. –
Drive to Tallahassee
5 p.m. –
Arrive in Tallahassee to stay at Holiday Inn Select, 316 West
Tennessee Street, Phone: 850-222-9555
441 and Williston Road to Southwest 23rd to Southwest 35th PL to 34th St. to Williston & back to Victims Park
TBA CPEA representatives and families of missing children available for interviews
9 a.m. Attend recognition ceremony with Governor Jeb Bush then participate in safety fair where literature of all charities involved will be displayed
Don Smith
Child Protection Education of America
This Tampa-based nonprofit missing children organization was started in
March 2002 by three individuals with a combined 30 years of experience in the
field. The organization’s mission is two-fold. On a day-to-day basis, CPEA
assists parents and law enforcement through the national distribution of
pictures of the missing. It also works to better educate both children and
parents about safety through a variety of programs, including ID ME NOW
fingerprinting events. Contact: Vince DiNova, 813-626-3001
A Child is Missing
This Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit was founded in 1996 to create a
community-based system to help locate missing children, disabled people and
elderly during the first hours of their disappearance. Using high-tech
telephony, their law enforcement-activated system can place 1,000 phone calls in
five minutes, providing area residents with the details of a missing or
vulnerable person case. Contact: Sherri Alvarez, 954-763-1288
Child Watch of North America
This nonprofit, with its home office in Orlando, provides the Kidguard
Safety Program, which offers parents a photo identification card of their child,
both through public events and through the mail. It also post pictures of
missing children and their abductors on its Web site. Contact: Lee Shaw,
407-290-5100
Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abductions
This south Dade County nonprofit distributes pictures of children
abducted by predators and attempts to get media coverage for the cases. It also
increases public awareness of predators and predatory abductions through a
variety of ways. It also helps law enforcement by providing bloodhounds in the
search for abducted and lost children. Contact: Claudine Ryce, 305-864-1344
Missing Children Center
This Winter Springs-based nonprofit registers and distributes
photographs of missing children cases. They also provide information on child
safety to the public. Contact: Joan Thompson, 407-327-4403
Suncoast Missing Children Project
Started in August 1994, this New Port Richey nonprofit aids parents and
law enforcement with all types of missing children cases, educates communities
about child safety, and distributes fingerprint cards free of charge. The
project also hosts a safety fair the first week in November in Pasco County.
Contact: Barbara Rains, 727-841-7440
Voice for the Children
Created in 1990, this West Palm Beach organization focuses its efforts
on children abducted by non-custodial parents. It also provides information
about making communities safer for children. The founder’s son was abducted by
her ex-husband in 1974 and has never been found. Contact: Marianne Malky,
1-800-28-HELPME
Family of Zachary Bernhardt
Zachary
disappeared in the early morning hours of September 11, 2000, from the
Clearwater apartment he shared with his mother. He has not been seen since. His
case received a tremendous amount of local coverage for the first month of his
disappearance, including a profile on America’s Most Wanted in November 2000.
Although his case is still active, little information or leads are coming to the
Clearwater Police Department.
Carole
Bernhardt leads her family in the search for her grandson. Other members of
Zachary’s family participating in the walk include: Leah Hackett, Randy and
Billie-Jo Jimenez, John and Denise Simpkins, Carole-Joy Hathcox, and Matt and
Denal Donnelly.
Family
of Amanda Brown
Amanda
was criminally abducted September 11, 1998, from Seffner. Through the police
investigation, enough evidence was gathered to lead to the conviction of Willie
Crane, who is currently on death row. To date, Amanda’s body has not been
recovered.
The
Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled a death sentence must be handed down by a
jury and not by the judge. With the Florida Supreme Court reviewing the
state’s own rulings, Roy and Sylvia are lobbying to uphold these types of
sentences.
Family
of Dorothy “Dee Dee” Scofield
Dee
Dee disappeared from an Ocala shopping center July 22, 1976. She is still
missing today though her case remains active with the Ocala Police Department.
Since
her disappearance, her family has been very involved with the missing
children’s issue in this country. In 1981, her cousin Ivana DiNova and
Ivana’s son Vince attended the Florida Governor’s Conference on Children and
Youth, hosted by Bob Graham. As a result of the DiNova’s recommendations,
Senator Paula Hawkins was able to create legislation that later became the
Missing Children’s Act. The recommendations made were to eliminate
24-to-48-hour waiting periods to search for a missing child as well as
jurisdictional boundaries that existed among law enforcement agencies. The
DiNova’s also pushed for the use of the media in missing children cases to
assist with the search.
In
March 1982, Ivana started the Missing Children…HELP Center, which was designed
to help families of missing children and the law enforcement agencies working
those cases. This center became a model site for similar United States agencies,
including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Today, Vince
is the executive director of Child Protection Education of America, the
nonprofit missing children organization that is organized this walk. Other
members of Dee Dee’s family participating in the walk include: Lena
Scofield, Toni
and Gary Harms,
and Shelly
Edwards.
Family
of Tiffany Sessions
Tiffany,
a student at the University of Florida, disappeared from Gainesville February 9,
1989, and has not been seen since. She went for a walk that evening and
vanished.
Since
that time, Hilary Sessions has been an advocate for all missing children. She
has appeared on many national talk shows discussing the issue and has spoken to
many groups about the missing children’s issue.