Steven Stayner, Merced, California

The other night I drove to Merced to hang out with my cousin. We went to dinner and had a great time! Since it's Merced and it's not exactly entertainment Capitol of the world, I decided that we needed to do some exploring and see what was unique to Merced. I got online and ta-da!!!! What do you know! I found something!!!

Back in December of 1972, a 7 year old boy named Steven Stayner was kidnapped in this small Central Valley town. His kidnapper was an associate of Kenneth Parnell. Parnell changes his name to Dennis and began brainwashing the boy. Over the next 7 years, Parnell repeatedly molested and sexually abused the young man. When Stayner started to reach puberty, Parnell began looking for another victim to kidnap. He then kidnapped a 5 year old boy named Timmy White in Ukiah, California. Stayner felt bad for the young boy and didn't want him to endure the suffering that he had gone through. So on March 2, 1980 when Parnell was at work, the two boys escaped and eventually ended up at a Ukiah police station. When asked for their identities, Steven revealed Timmy's information and about himself said "I know my name is Steven." Parnell was arrested immediately and the boys reunited with their families. Steven Stayner went on to try and have a normal life, but his past always haunted him. He did eventually marry and have a family, but his tragic story ended on September 17, 1989 when he was in a fatal motorcycle accident.

If you visit Merced, there is a statue in Applegate Park of Steven and Timmy. It was dedicated in their honor in August of 2010 to bring hope to other families with missing children.

Stayner is buried in a local cemetery in Merced. If you go to the far back and towards the left, there is a section called "Garden of Peace." He's in spot 140 (identified on his headstone) and is buried next to his grandfather.