HAMPTON, Va. — Tuesday, January 31, marks one year since 4-year-old Codi Bigsby was reported missing by his father in Hampton.
The little boy’s case has pulled on the heartstrings of people across Hampton Roads ever since.
“I can truly love someone that I have never met,” said community organizer Nancy Strikland.
Several community groups gathered on Monday night to light Codi’s way home. Many of them searched wooded areas and neighborhoods to try and find him over the past year.
“It is painful because we just wonder, how can someone, just a 4-year-old, disappear,” said community volunteer Charese Howard.
With candles in hand, the group stood where the search started. Hampton Police said Codi’s father, Cory Bigsby, reported his son missing on January 31, 2022. The family lived at the Buckroe Pointe apartments in Hampton.
“While the fight is not over, we are at a very historic mark of it being one year tomorrow,” said Water Team Inc. founder Joe Slabinski.
Organizers created mementos with Codi’s photo, spelled his name with candles, and prayed for his return.
Slabinski has spent countless hours searching for Codi with Water Team Inc. He said groups at the vigil promised they won’t stop now.
“That’s awesome to hear that we are not in this fight alone, that there are still people willing to give it every day,” Slabinski said.
Once strangers, the group now has a common goal: keep all missing children in the spotlight.
“For some reason, this child has brought us together in a way that, with all that’s going on in the world right now, I don’t know any of these people, but it’s like they’ve been in my life all this time,” Howard said.