Jessica’s Memorial Bench Dedication Speech

by Don Wick - Police Chief Arvada Police Department I think we all can agree that children are our most precious asset. I cannot imagine anything more difficult than the loss of a young child. It is difficult to comprehend how challenging this situation must be for the Ridgeway family and their friends. While the fact that we are together today is unfortunate, in its own way, it's a miracle.

Nearly a year ago when Jessica went missing, the Ridgeway family, friends, many people in the community and certainly police officers throughout the area, especially the Westminster police officers, began, in earnest, a frantic search for Jessica. This singular event brought a diversity of people together who had never met, some who hardly knew each other, and yet they came together for the common purpose of searching for Jessica. I vividly recall at every officer briefing after Jessica's disappearance, our supervisors talking with our officers about the fact Jessica was missing, showing flyers of her, and encouraging them to get the posters out into the community. Community members volunteered their time to place flyers and posters throughout the community: inside stores, on sign posts, and on traffic signal lights. These flyers were everywhere. You could not help but know that Jessica was missing. To see a community come together in this way reinforces the belief that to all of us, children are our most precious asset.

I recall the afternoon that Jessica was found here in Arvada. Police officers, investigators, non-sworn employees, supervisors, and command officers immediately leaped into action. They all had one thing in common: they were collectively resolved to find and hold accountable the person or persons responsible. Every day, police officers see victims of crime, arrest suspects, handle cases, and otherwise deliver police services. Over time, officers don't remember all of the victims or specifics of the crimes they investigate, but on rare occasions, a crime is so difficult to comprehend, so difficult to understand, so difficult to get your head around, that you never forget it. I promise the Ridgeway family that none of us will ever forget Jessica. Jessica will live with every police officer, investigator, and all others who were involved in this case forever. I stated earlier that the fact we are here together today is somehow in its own way, a miracle. I would like to talk about the miracle that Jessica has brought us. A miracle is an event not ascribable to human power or the laws of nature. If you are like me, you cannot begin to understand the how's and why's behind why we lost Jessica. It seems impossible to get your head around how something like this could happen . Our inability to comprehend such a thing makes it challenging to overcome and to find a way to carry on with our lives. I believe that herein lays Jessica's miracle.

Jessica's power brought her family, police investigators, commuity members, and others together in ways that would have been otherwise impossible. Jessica has made us all reflect upon our own lives, to reconsider what is important, and to once again recognize the value of life. Shortly after Jessica was found, a make-shift memorial was established across the roadway from where we are standing today. Who built this make-shift memorial? Of course the easy answer is everyone who visited the memorial. But is that true? Was Jessica's spirit guiding all those who visited? Over the course of several weeks, I visited the memorial multiple times. Each time, I saw the same thing: Moms and dads with their kids; business people all dressed up for work; hardened construction workers, bikers, and bicyclists riding along Leydon road. They all came for their own reasons, but what I saw was a community collectively weeping for the loss of this precious child. At the same time, every person was trying to make sense of this senseless act, and they were trying to learn for themselves how to overcome this and carry forward with their life. At Jessica's memorial service, there were probably a thousand people in attendance, and many thousands more who were there in spirit. While we all celebrated the life of this beautiful child, Jessica entered each of our hearts where she will remain forever. Today, we are here to dedicate this bench. This is not just any ordinary bench. This bench represents Jessica's spirit, and the gift she has given us. This bench became a reality through the actions of many including Jessica's family, public safety employees, parks and public works employees, community members, and others. This is another example of Jessica's miracle. It's about her ability to bring such a diverse group of people together for a common purpose.

As I look at the stone bench, I realize that this bench is more like Jessica than we might think. The stone demonstrates her strength and character. The solid nature of the stone demonstrates how she brought various groups of people together for a common purpose, for solidarity, to speak out against such atrocities. And the stone will outlast us all. It will outlast rain, snow, wind, and other storms. The engraving on the stone is not just an engraving. Jessica's hand held the hand of the person who held the sandblaster which in the end, created this living piece for us. Now and in the future as we all visit this park and this memorial, Jessica will be forever present. If you sit on the bench, Jessica will sit beside you. If you stand and observe the bench, Jessica will stand beside you. As you walk these trails, Jessica's spirit will be in the wind that accompanies you. Pascal Mercier wrote in his book Night Train to Lisbon, "We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there." I would like the Ridgeway family and friends to know one final thing. The day Jessica was found, she was in the hands of the most caring and loving people, especially our animal management officer and the crime scene investigators. You could not have asked for a better team of people than those officers from the Arvada and Westminster Police departments. We recognize that many police agencies were involved in this investigation, but none were as personally touched by this as those who dealt directly with Jessica and her family. I hope this provides you some comfort. Based on what I have witnessed during this investigation, these police officers and members of our community give me hope. As we stand here today, there are thousands of missing children in the United States alone. I have no doubt that not only our local police officers, but officers from across the United Stats are vigilant in looking for these children. Each of us must accept the responsibility to watch out for our children to ensure that Jessica's loss is not in vain. At the risk of forgetting to mention someone, I would like to personally thank all of my staff who worked on this case for putting forth their best efforts. You have made us all proud, once again, of the Arvada Police Department. And on behalf of us all, to the Westminster Police Department for this tireless investigative work and for bringing to justice the person responsible. I would like to thank the District Attorney's Office ahead of time for the arduous task that is ahead of them. I'd also like to thank Mike McDonnell and Gordon Reusink and the Arvada Parks staff for completing the work attributable to this memorial, and finally I would like to thank Shane from Living Stone Custom Engraving for their support and contributions in making this memorial a reality. In closing, while we all mourn Jessica's loss, and while we continue to find a way to heal, I believe that Jessica has taught us all to be strong, to realize what's important in life, and to never fail to be a community, to work together, and to realize that people from all walks of life can come together and accomplish something greater than ourselves. For this, we will always be indebted to Jessica and the miracle she has brought to us all.

* For those who would like to visit the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Site – the cross, stone bench and sign are located between Indiana St and Hwy 93 on Leyden Rd. in Arvada, CO. You can’t miss the cross, it’s close to the edge of the road. The stone bench and sign are directly across the street, right next to the large tree in Pattridge Park. When you visit the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Site next, bring some water for the bushes and wildflowers – let’s help them grow ♥ ** UPDATE - due to the housing development across the street, the wooden cross has been moved and is now next to the stone bench and Jessica's artwork. Flowers have been planted around the cross, so please continue to bring water when you come to visit - thank you for making Jessica's memorial site so breathtakingly beautiful!