A NASCAR driver from Nevada is on a mission to find a Missouri man who's been missing since he was a boy.
Arlin Henderson of Lincoln County disappeared just a month after Jaycee Dugard, now 29, disappeared in California, in 1991. Dugard has been found and reunited with her family. That inspired Bell to want to do something to help find missing children.
"I was put in this position where I'm out here doing this in front of a lot of people; anything I can do to help anybody, especially this family," Bell said. "A lot of people have kind of put this on the back-burner. With Jaycee being found, it's really brought people who have been missing for a while, back to the forefront."
Strange how a 29 year old racer with no connection to the St. Louis area, suddenly had one. Saturday; all over his tailgate and the sides of his truck, for everyone to see, at least that was the idea.
"That's advertisement that could be money into his pocket and they're gracious for him to give us that spot, both sides, and the tailgate," said Henderson uncle and family spokesman, Jim McWilliams. "We couldn't have asked for anything better."
"Get that thing in victory lane, get a lot of pictures taken, get that out there for everybody to see," Bell said.
He didn't finish first in the Copart 200 NASCAR Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway Saturday. But as far as Henderson's family was concerned, Bell was the winner.
"He's so down to earth and he's sincere," McWilliams said.
McWilliams and Henderson's mom, Debbie, have seen the miraculous recoveries of Shawn Hornbeck in Missouri after 4 years, then Dugard in California, after 18 years; the same amount of time Arlin's been gone: the 13 year old boy, now a man in his 30's.
"I mean for that girl to walk into that police station and say, 'hey, are you looking for me'," McWilliams said. "That's another gift."
If anyone thinks a picture on a truck leading to an Arlin Henderson homecoming is a pipe dream, keep this in mind: the sheer number of eyes that were cast upon that truck during this race.
"With the NASCAR fan base being more than 75 million strong, that's about 1/3 of the U.S. adult population," said Bell's promoter, Lloyd Wideman.
Arlin Henderson was the talk of the race, his story featured in the Speed Channel's coverage, with 30,000 fans at the track, millions more watching on TV, seeing Arlin's age-progressed picture every time Bell circled the track.
"That's huge exposure for a young man who's probably living next door to somebody right now as somebody's neighbor, hidden in plain sight," Wideman said.
"Just getting it out there to anybody is going to help," Bell said.
"We can't give up. We never will," McWilliams said.
For more background on the Henderson case and a look at that age-progressed photo, see this link.
Arlin Henderson of Lincoln County disappeared just a month after Jaycee Dugard, now 29, disappeared in California, in 1991. Dugard has been found and reunited with her family. That inspired Bell to want to do something to help find missing children.
"I was put in this position where I'm out here doing this in front of a lot of people; anything I can do to help anybody, especially this family," Bell said. "A lot of people have kind of put this on the back-burner. With Jaycee being found, it's really brought people who have been missing for a while, back to the forefront."
Strange how a 29 year old racer with no connection to the St. Louis area, suddenly had one. Saturday; all over his tailgate and the sides of his truck, for everyone to see, at least that was the idea.
"That's advertisement that could be money into his pocket and they're gracious for him to give us that spot, both sides, and the tailgate," said Henderson uncle and family spokesman, Jim McWilliams. "We couldn't have asked for anything better."
"Get that thing in victory lane, get a lot of pictures taken, get that out there for everybody to see," Bell said.
He didn't finish first in the Copart 200 NASCAR Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway Saturday. But as far as Henderson's family was concerned, Bell was the winner.
"He's so down to earth and he's sincere," McWilliams said.
McWilliams and Henderson's mom, Debbie, have seen the miraculous recoveries of Shawn Hornbeck in Missouri after 4 years, then Dugard in California, after 18 years; the same amount of time Arlin's been gone: the 13 year old boy, now a man in his 30's.
"I mean for that girl to walk into that police station and say, 'hey, are you looking for me'," McWilliams said. "That's another gift."
If anyone thinks a picture on a truck leading to an Arlin Henderson homecoming is a pipe dream, keep this in mind: the sheer number of eyes that were cast upon that truck during this race.
"With the NASCAR fan base being more than 75 million strong, that's about 1/3 of the U.S. adult population," said Bell's promoter, Lloyd Wideman.
Arlin Henderson was the talk of the race, his story featured in the Speed Channel's coverage, with 30,000 fans at the track, millions more watching on TV, seeing Arlin's age-progressed picture every time Bell circled the track.
"That's huge exposure for a young man who's probably living next door to somebody right now as somebody's neighbor, hidden in plain sight," Wideman said.
"Just getting it out there to anybody is going to help," Bell said.
"We can't give up. We never will," McWilliams said.
For more background on the Henderson case and a look at that age-progressed photo, see this link.
