On foot, ATVs, or horseback, over 300 people participated in the fifth annual Poker Ride on May 28.
In 2011 on the same day, twenty-year-old Madison Scott disappeared after attending a party at Hogsback Lake, 25 kilometres south of Vanderhoof.
It’s the first year that the event, organized by the Scott family to further the search and increase awareness of her disappearance, fell on the exact date of that fateful day, and the number of Poker Ride participants have gone up in comparison to past years’ event.
“We do it out of necessity; it’s not an event that we enjoy doing,” said Madison’s mother Dawn Scott. “We get a lot of people from the outlying area, which is great.
“It keeps people aware that she’s still missing.”
Participants ventured on separate trails, depending on their mode of transportation, to win various prizes donated by businesses from Vanderhoof and Prince George.
“The kindness and consideration that supporters have shown and continue to show is what sustains this family and is what helps keep the momentum to bring Maddy home at the forefront,” Scott said. “We are so grateful.”
Though she felt that Madison is not in this area, the search remains.
“We have one focus, and that is to find Maddy,” Dawn said. “She went missing from our area…you don’t give up.”