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Buffalo cyclists ride to raise awareness for missing children

Buffalo cyclists ride to raise awareness for missing children
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CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo cyclists are coming together early Friday morning, to begin a 100-mile bike ride all to raise awareness for missing children in Western New York and across the country.

It's the annual Miles for Hope ride, organized by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This year's event is in honor of Sydney West.

Sydney was 19 years old when she vanished from San Francisco California on September 30th, 2020. She was staying with family friends in the area shortly after leaving UC Berkeley in the middle of her first semester of college. Her family as been searching for her ever since. Sydney's mother, Kimberly Kadzik West is from Buffalo, she is a graduate of Amherst Central High School.

For the last 26 years, cyclists throughout New York state have been participating in The Ride for Missing Children to help raise awareness for missing children across the country. Jay West, Sydney's father, is riding alongside participants in this year's Buffalo ride. There will be simultaneous rides in San Francisco, where Sydney went missing, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Sydney grew up. Sydney's mother is riding in Chapel Hill. Together, all the riders will cycle 2,800 miles -- the distance between San Francisco and Chapel Hill.

The Western New York ride begins at Clarence Center United Methodist Church at 7am Friday morning. Riders will do four 25-mile loops.

You can learn more about the search for Sydney West at FindSydneyWest.com. There's also information about all the children participants are riding for at MissingKids.org.