Slain Girl’s Mother Helps in Anti-Abuse Campaign

The mother of Samantha Runnion -- the 5-year-old Stanton girl whose abduction and slaying 10 days before her birthday captured national attention last summer -- is working on behalf of other child victims now.

Erin Runnion on Wednesday helped kick off the 2003 Blue Ribbon Campaign, an annual event to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect. The event was sponsored by the Raise Foundation, formerly known as Prevent Child Abuse-Orange County.

“The numbers are staggering,” Runnion said, “but they aren’t numbers -- they’re children. If we want to protect our children, we must protect all children.”

According to county officials, there were 26,000 reported instances of child abuse in Orange County last year, a 7% increase.

In November, Runnion started the Joyful Child Foundation, in memory of her daughter. The group’s first endeavor, Samantha’s Pride, is to encourage participation in child protection efforts.

“The one beauty in a tragedy is the unity it brings,” Runnion said.

Samantha was abducted July 15 as she and a friend played outside her Stanton home. Her body was found the next day along a mountain road near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County.

Last summer, Samantha’s case brought together Runnion and Sheriff Michael S. Carona, who also spoke at Wednesday’s ceremony.

“I told Erin I would bring Samantha home before her birthday,” Carona said. “We’d done everything right, but we weren’t so lucky.”

The trial of Alejandro Avila, the Lake Elsinore man charged in Samantha’s death, is slated for January.

The Runnion case was one of five child abductions in the county last year.

At the ceremony at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, hundreds of butterflies were released after the names of abused children were read aloud.

“We’re doing everything we can to put ourselves out of business,” said Michael Riley, director of Children and Family Services for the Social Services Agency. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s something we’ll have to worry about for a long time to come.”