MANATEE — Clay Moore, who two years ago was abducted at age 13 as he awaited a school bus near Parrish, last week won a “Courage Award” for exceptional bravery, according to officials at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Every year, the center presents the award to honor children who have shown bravery in the face of adversity, said Devorah Goldburg, public relations senior manager at the center, based in Alexandria, Va.
Moore was one of three young people honored with awards during a ceremony May 11 in Washington, D.C., she said.
He and his family also attended a luncheon at the center May 12, said Brenda Moore, Clay’s grandmother, who added in an e-mail message, “I’m so proud that I was able to attend this award ceremony.”
Clay Moore could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
John and Reve Walsh, co-founders of the center, presented the awards. As the host of the popular television program, “America’s Most Wanted,” John Walsh has become a celebrity.
In 1981, the couple’s 6-year-old son, Adam, was kidnapped and killed in Hollywood. Last year, police said a serial killer named Ottis Toole, who died in prison, had decapitated the boy.
In Manatee County, authorities allege that Vincente Beltran-Moreno, 24, a Mexican national, abducted Moore as he waited at a school bus stop near Parrish on Feb. 23, 2007.
Clay had torn his jacket, and a tear in his sleeve was closed with a safety pin. As he sat in Beltran-Moreno’s truck, Clay retrieved the safety pin and discreetly placed it in his mouth.
The abductor bound Clay with duct tape and shoved one of his own socks into his mouth. His eyes were covered, his hands were bound with shoelaces from his shoes, and he was tied to a tree. His abductor then drove away.
Using the safety pin, Clay picked at the duct tape and shoelaces on his wrists and freed himself. He ran through a field in his bare feet until he found a farmer working, borrowing the farmer’s cell phone to call his parents.
Clay was able to provide the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office with a description of his kidnapper and the truck he was driving, which led identifying Beltran-Moreno as a suspect.
Beltran-Moreno is on track to go on trial later this month. If he is convicted of kidnapping, he faces a life prison sentence.
Other young people honored last week during the center’s “Hope Awards” event included Tabytha Carroll, 10, of Orchard Mesa, Colo., who fought off her attacker last year by biting him on the nose and fleeing, and Mary Katherine Smart, the sister of the kidnapped Elizabeth Smart, for the role she played in working with the police on a sketch of what the abductor looked like which ultimately led to Elizabeth’s rescue. The sketch was aired on "America’s Most Wanted" in February of 2003 and on March 12, 2003, Elizabeth was spotted by a couple that had seen the show and contacted police.
Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at (941) 708-7908.
or at skennedy@bradenton.com.
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