[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to 
honor an exceptional group of law enforcement officers.
  I recently met with Sheriff James Kelly of Catahoula Parish, LA, who 
informed me that a member of his department was conferred the 2011 
National Missing Children's Special Recognition award by the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  Deputy Toney Edwards, of the Catahoula Parish Sheriff's Office in 
Harrisonburg, LA, was honored along with three others involved for 
their outstanding work resolving the tragic case of the 12-year-old 
Lexis Kaye Roberts. On October 8, 2010, two hunters found the partial 
remains of Lexis Roberts in Catahoula Parish, LA. Deputy Edwards, along 
with a team dedicated to the case, was able to identify her remains. 
The investigation into her disappearance and death focused on a man who 
was last known to be in the company of the girl and her mother, who was 
also missing. Information about the man was distributed to truck stops 
throughout the country and 2 days later he was arrested in Mississippi. 
The man has been indicted on Federal charges of kidnapping resulting in 
the death of the young girl.
  Others honored for their working the case were Special Agent Benjamin 
Walsh, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Robert King, and Senior 
Special Agent Janice Mertz of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 
Alexandria, VA.
  In 1984, John Walsh cofounded the private, nonprofit National Center 
for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC. This center serves as a 
focal point in providing assistance to parents, children, law 
enforcement, schools, and communities in recovering missing children 
and raising public awareness about ways to help prevent child 
abduction, molestation, and sexual exploitation. NCMEC has worked on 
more than 73,000 cases of missing and exploited children, helped 
recover more than 48,000 children, and raised its recovery rate from 60 
percent in the 1980s to 91 percent today.
  I truly enjoyed talking to Sheriff James Kelley about the work being 
done by both NCMEC and his own police force in Louisiana. While I have 
worked closely with and seen the success of the many excellent Alabama 
law enforcement officers, I am glad to hear of the fine work of these 
officers.
  On behalf of my colleagues in the Senate, it is an honor to recognize 
them for their exemplary service.

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