CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers is marking the 21st year of the Officer Larry R. Cox Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving with a new incentive to get people moving: anyone who picks up a race packet this week is automatically entered into a free raffle for a 54-inch smart TV, the organization said in a Facebook post.
Race packets can be picked up Nov. 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the library’s Main Annex, located behind the main branch off Paint Street in Chillicothe, according to the post.
The 5K run begins at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, in Yoctangee Park, with a fun walk following at 9:15 a.m. Registration costs $25 and is available online only through race sign-up sites, with no race-day registration offered. Last year’s race, the 18th annual running, drew nearly 350 runners and walkers to the park, according to previous Scioto Valley Guardian coverage.
Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers, Inc. has hosted the memorial race every Thanksgiving since shortly after Officer Cox’s death, dedicating it each year “in memory of our friend.” Proceeds from registration fees go toward the Officer Larry Cox Memorial Scholarship Fund, and in past years finishers have received sweatshirts and participation medals.
Cox, a 19-year veteran of the Chillicothe Police Department who wore badge No. 21 and served as one of the department’s D.A.R.E. officers, was shot and killed on April 21, 2005, at age 44, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit that maintains public records of officers killed in the line of duty. Cox was off duty when he confronted a robbery suspect in an alley between Chestnut and Church streets near High Street in Chillicothe. The suspect, who was wanted for stealing a car and robbing a gas station roughly an hour earlier, shot and killed him. The suspect later pleaded guilty to Cox’s murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Organizers said the TV raffle is a return of a past promotion meant to boost packet pickup ahead of the holiday race.
The information contained in this story was obtained from a Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers, Inc. social media post and the Officer Down Memorial Page.
