Bracelet Sales Planned to Finance Expanded Effort : 100 Gather to Hear Report on Search for Missing Girl

More than 100 people crowded into the sanctuary of the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa Monday to hear a progress report on the search for Laura Bradbury, the 3-year-old Huntington Beach girl who disappeared from her family’s campsite in Joshua Tree National Monument Oct. 18.

The chief item of business was a presentation to actor Ricky Schroder, star of the TV series “Silver Spoons,” of an ID bracelet with Laura’s name and date of disappearance inscribed on it. The gold bracelet was presented to Schroder by Travis Bradbury, Laura’s 8-year-old brother.

In a barely audible voice, Travis told the 14-year-old actor, a distant relative of Laura, “Thanks for helping find Laura” as he handed him the bracelet.

Schroder said he would try to give a second gold bracelet, also presented to him Monday night, to First Lady Nancy Reagan at one of the inaugural galas next weekend in Washington.

The Bradburys are hoping to produce many more bracelets like the two presented Monday and sell them for $4 apiece in an expanded effort to find Laura.

Schroder said his aim in participating in the Bradbury effort is to “make the public more aware of the situation of missing children.”

Santa Ana attorney Richard Peterson also announced a “no-strings” reward of $20,000 for the safe return of Laura.

“We are certain there is someone out there who knows where Laura is,” Peterson said.

The Huntington Beach Police Officers Assn. presented the Bradburys with a check for $1,000 for their personal use.

San Diego-based Swiss Dairies has agreed to put Laura’s picture on its milk cartons sometime in the next few weeks. Discussions now are under way with Orange County dairies to do the same thing, according to Peterson and Laura’s father Mike.

In an interview earlier in the day, Laura’s mother Patty said the recent return of a missing Long Beach teen-ager was “very encouraging.”

“Whenever a child is found like that it’s encouraging. But I don’t like to think about two years,” the period the Long Beach boy was gone, she said.