On September 11, 1995, 9-year-old Jimmy Ryce was abducted in South Florida by a sexual predator while on his way home from school. He was raped and murdered.
A massive search — led by Jimmy’s parents, Don and Claudine Ryce — ended in December, 1995, with the arrest of his killer.
Young Jimmy had an IQ of over 130. He loved to read, hated stories with sad endings and cried when he saw “Les Miserables.” At 9 years old, he had aspirations of being an MLB baseball player or finding a cure for a disease.
To honor their son, the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction was created to raise awareness about the plight of missing children, in addition to victims’ rights and violence.
The Jimmy Ryce Center has not only educated the general public, but has introduced legislation effecting change in laws designed to better protect children from sexual predators.
The Jimmy Ryce Center also provides AKC bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States in an effort to help them locate missing and abducted children.
“This trail is dedicated to the memory of Jimmy Ryce and all those that will be saved by the training that will be conducted here.”
To date, over 450 bloodhounds have been donated to law enforcement agencies throughout the country.
According to Jimmy’s late mother, Claudine Ryce, “a bloodhound has 60 times the scent power of a German shepherd and is the only dog that can follow a human trail more than a few hours old. A bloodhound is your best single bet for bringing a child, abducted by a predator, home alive. We believe that Jimmy would be alive today if a bloodhound had immediately been brought in to search for our son.”
“Claudine and I always wanted our son’s death to keep other children safe and have a positive impact on future generations. Jimmy’s legacy endures each time we donate a bloodhound to a law enforcement agency,” said Don Ryce.
The Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction continues to actively raise funds to donate bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies.
“I know Jimmy would never want another child to cry, ‘Mama, Daddy, somebody come help me,’ and nobody comes,” Claudine Ryce said before she died of a heart attack in 2009.
Claudine is buried next to Jimmy at Woodlawn Cemetery South in Miami.
To learn more about the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction or to make a donation toward the purchase of an AKC bloodhound, visit www.jimmyryce.org.
