Cyclists and volunteers will take to the streets in Denton County on Oct. 17 to raise awareness for missing and exploited children.
The Texas Regional Office of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is holding its first “Texas Ride for Missing Children” on Oct. 17. The 100k (62-mile) bike ride in Denton County will raise awareness and funds for education programs that help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation.
Riders will be joined by law enforcement partners from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Denton County Sheriff’s Office. The ride’s route will include stops at four area schools where children will cheer on the riders, participate in a balloon release for missing children and learn about child safety through resources provided by NCMEC.
“Our goal is to keep our children safer on the Internet and in the real world,” said Kelly Culhane, event organizer and mother of two Flower Mound children.
The ride kicks off at 8:00 a.m. at Lifetime Fitness, 3100 Churchill Drive, Flower Mound, Texas, with a send-off by DPS Captain Jeoffry Williams and Denton County Sheriff Will. The ride will conclude with a special thank you from Rae Leigh Bradbury, the first child in the US to be rescued by an AMBER Alert 16 years ago. The Texas Regional Office’s 2014 Texas Hero for Children, Homeland Security Special Agent Keith Owens, will also address the riders, volunteers and supporters.
There are still a few days to sign up for the ride! To register or donate, please visit www.ride.missingkids.com. Current sponsors include American Bank of Commerce, Zoe’s Kitchen and ABC Home & Commercial Services.
A complete schedule for the “Texas Ride for Missing Children” is available upon request. Please email media@ncmec.org.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is the leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working with law enforcement, families and the professionals who serve them on issues relating to missing and sexually exploited children. Authorized by Congress to serve as the nation’s clearinghouse on these issues, NCMEC operates a hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST® (1-800-843-5678), and has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 199,000 children. NCMEC also operates the CyberTipline, a mechanism for reporting child pornography, child sex trafficking and other forms of child sexual exploitation. Since it was created in 1998, more than 2.7 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation have been received, and more than 120 million suspected child pornography images have been reviewed. NCMEC works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, visit www.missingkids.com. Follow NCMEC on Twitter and like NCMEC on Facebook.