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SYRACUSE -- Hundreds of people remembered Ethan Stacy Saturday by donating teddy bears in his name.
Nearly 1,000 stuffed animals were collected during the Memorial Teddy Bear Drive at the Iceburg Drive Inn at 1792 S. 2000 West in Syracuse.
The toys will be distributed to local law enforcement agencies, including the Utah Highway Patrol and Syracuse Police Department. Officers, deputies and firefighters will keep them in their patrol cars and trucks to have on hand when responding to traumatic situations involving children.
"Police can be very intimidating, and to a scared child you can times that by 10," said Bill Jones, organizer of Saturday's drive. "If they can give them a stuffed animal to ease their comfort, it helps them to do their job and it makes it easier for them and the child."
Some of the stuffed animals will be donated to Shriners Hospital for Children and several local battered women's shelters.
Prosecutors filed aggravated murder charges against Ethan's mother, Stephanie Sloop, and her husband, Nathan Sloop. The couple could face the death penalty if convicted.
