HAMPTON, Va. — A tribute for a missing Hampton boy will be coming down, nearly two years after the child's disappearance.
Posters and toys currently sit along the fence at Hampton's Buckroe Apartments in honor of Codi Bigsby. The tribute went up days after the boy's father, Cory Bigsby, reported him missing on January 31, 2022.
No one has seen Codi since.
Now on what would be his sixth birthday, a notice hangs on the fence, saying all items will be removed by February 5, 2024.
Some community members say it's upsetting.
"It's very heartbreaking because that's the only thing we have left of Codi," said resident Nancy Strickland. "Until he is found... that's it."
City of Hampton spokesperson Mike Holtzclaw said signs typically are not allowed at city parks without prior approval, but officials had allowed the memorial display to stay up due to the "strong community response" for the search of Codi.
"Now that an arrest has been made and the case is in court, the City decided it is appropriate [to] enforce the rules and remove the objects," Holtzclaw said in a statement. "Notice was posted on January 2, 2024, that any remaining items will be removed on February 5, 2024, to give people time to remove any items they want to keep."
While Codi has never been found, his father is set to go to trial for his murder in March.
Cory Bigsby's trial was originally set for this past November, but his legal team asked a judge to push back the start date. Cory reported Codi missing in January of 2022, but prosecutors believe he killed the little boy months earlier, in June of 2021.