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Runner Plans Tribute To Find Missing Cousin

LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A woman in Longmont who loves to run is turning to other runners to help keep her missing cousin in people's minds.

Sherry Arnold, 43, went out for a morning run in Sydney, Mont., on Jan. 7 and never came home. Two Colorado men are being held in her disappearance and presumed death.

Arnold's cousin, Beth Risdon, is organizing an event to help family and friends find peace. After Arnold went missing, the avid runner has been writing in her blog to help her cope.

"It's very therapeutic for me," Risdon said.

As the search for the school math teacher's body continues in Montana -- investigators say they believe she's dead -- back in Colorado Risdon is planning what she's calling a virtual run in her cousin's memory. She's encouraging other runners to print up a bib with Arnold's picture to pin on a shirt and then go for a run -- solo, or in a group -- on Feb. 11.

Sherry Arnold
Sherry Arnold (credit: Facebook)

"My hope for that day is that people simply wear the bib with her picture on it and go out there with the intention to think about her, and for healing and for positive energy," Risdon said.

Lester Vann Waters and Keith Spell live in Parachute on Colorado's Western Slope. They were arrested in North Dakota for aggravated kidnapping in Arnold's disappearance.

Lester Vann Waters Jr. and Michael Keith Spell
Lester Vann Waters Jr. and Michael Keith Spell (credit: Williams County Sheriff's Department)

"From what we know it doesn't seem there will be a happy ending to this story, unfortunately. What seems to be most important now is closure; the body coming home," Risdon said.

Risdon says although she only saw her cousin occasionally over the years, they were both runners, so organizing the virtual run feels like a healing way to do something in the midst of tragic unknown.

"I saw this as a way for myself to connect with Sherry and also as a way that's very healing for me, and I think it actually feels that way for a lot of people."

Risdon says as part of the day of virtual runs, she's organizing a group run on Feb 11 to remember Arnold. It'll be at 9 a.m. at Boulder Reservoir.

LINK: Shut Up & Run

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