St. Louis, Mo. (KSDK) - Arlin Henderson disappeared at age 11 from Lincoln County, MO, in July of 1991. Still, more than twenty years later, his family holds out hope that they will learn what happened to him, and they find ways to keep Arlin's image in the public eye.
Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome, Arlin's photo, name, and the telephone number of his uncle, Rev. James McWilliams, could been seen by thousands of people at the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam.
Arlin's image was pasted on the side of the Bounty Hunter, a monster truck driven by Jim Creten.
"My public relations guy, Lloyd, is from the St. Louis area and is very good friends with the Arlin Henderson family," said Creten, while signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans. "And he asked me if I would put this on at this family event. It fits. We would like to help reunite Arlin with his family. We have the visibility here, with 60,000 people at the Monster Jam event. And with the national coverage with Speed Channel, anything we can do to bring this family together, that's our heart's wish to happen."
The image on Creten's truck is a computer-aged version of what Arlin would look like today. Creten also wore a pin featuring a photo of Arlin as a young boy.
Rev. McWilliams said, "Where Arlin's picture is setting, on the Bounty Hunter-- you don't get much bigger. It's just another step to put Arlin's picture out in the media, and draw attention to him. And we pray that somebody recognizes something, and makes a phone call."
Creten's wife, Dawn, was familiar with the Arlin Henderson story as well.
She said, "It just made so much sense. To get the visibility out there. You're in front of all these people; in front of TV cameras. Anything to reunite him with his family would be wonderful. We go coast-to-coast. We go down to Mexico; we go out of the country, Canada. So it'll be seen by everybody."
McWilliams said, "It's going to be that one certain call that breaks this case. And these guys get more attention even than NASCAR, because Monster Jam goes everywhere."
McWilliams said anyone with information is asked to call him, at 314-807-2100. For information on the Arlin Henderson story, visit www.lookforarlin.com.
KSDK