Steven Stayner statue dedication this Saturday at Applegate Park

A dedication for the Steven Stayner and Missing Children's Memorial is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in Applegate Park.

Stayner was abducted while walking home from school in 1972, reappearing eight years later after escaping with another boy, 5-year-old Timmy White.

The dedication ceremony will start at the grove of trees near N and 26th streets. Later, the statue of Stayner and White will be unveiled in a new addition to Applegate Park at 26th and M streets. The one-acre property features an ornamental metal archway serving as an entrance to the park, with a winding walkway leading to the statue. The life-sized statue was created by sculptor Paula Slater of Hidden Valley Lake.

Stayner died at the age of 24 in a 1989 motorcycle accident. White became a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who died earlier this year from a pulmonary embolism.

Stayner's children and family, and members of the White family, are expected to attend the event, along with Russ Van Voorhis, the Ukiah police officer who was the first to encounter Stayner after his escape.

People attending the ceremony may park in the lot at 2525 O Street.

This story was originally published August 25, 2010 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Steven Stayner statue dedication this Saturday at Applegate Park."