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SUNSET — Tucked away behind Doxey Elementary School is a small playground.
It was near this playground that 3-year-old Rachael Runyan was playing with her brothers on Aug. 26, 1982, when she was kidnapped and killed. Since that day, her family has worked to raise awareness about child abduction.
On Tuesday, the park was renamed the Rachael Runyan Memorial Park at the request of her mother, Elaine Runyan. A sandstone monument and bench will be erected in memory of Rachael and missing children everywhere.
The monument is scheduled to be completed on Aug. 26.
"What an honor to be able to do this for Rachael," Elaine Runyan said Tuesday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial.
Rachael's case remains unsolved. No one was ever arrested in connection with the girl’s kidnapping and murder.
“It's been nearly 34 years since we lost our baby this coming August," Runyan said. "We appeal to the public to help us solve this case and finally bring justice to Rachael."
Rachael was playing at the playground when a man lured her with candy into his car. At the time, her mother was making lunch in their home nearby.
After three weeks of searching, Rachael's body was found in a remote wooded area in northern Morgan County.
The girl's parents are still offering a $50,000 reward for anyone who provides evidence that leads to a conviction in the case.
Runyan said she hopes the park will be a place to reflect and remember her daughter.
"Being in this place today is bittersweet," she said. "We don't want that to ever happen again, so we make a big deal about it."
Rachael’s case was fundamental in initiating the Rachael Alert system, an early child abduction alert program. The first Rachael Alert went out for the abduction of Elizabeth Smart from her home in Salt Lake City in June 2002. The alert system was later united with the national Amber Alert.
Smart's father, Ed Smart, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial.
“If anything good could come out of it though, I'm convinced today there are a lot of children alive partly as a result of Rachael paying the ultimate price. There are a lot of children this (Amber Alert) program has saved,” Sunset Police Chief Ken Eborn said.
Amber Alerts were originally named after Amber Hagerman, 9, who was kidnapped and murdered in Texas in 1996. AMBER is also an acronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.
“It does work,” Elaine Runyan said.
The Rachael Runyan award is another way the girl's parents continue to honor and remember their daughter. The award is presented to Utah residents who help recover a child after an Amber Alert has been activated.
Eborn said he believes it is still "absolutely possible" to solve Rachael's case. There may be people who are aware of details surrounding the kidnapping who have been afraid to speak up, he said.
"It is solvable. We will continue to work the case," Eborn said. "We continue to look at it quite often."
The chief urged anyone with information surrounding the case to contact the Sunset Police Department.
