HAMPTON, Va. — Memorializing Codi Bigsby.
That was the goal of friends and family gathering at Fort Monroe Sunday.
Shortly after Codi was reported missing on January 31, 2022, Hampton police started searching for him. He was 4 years old at the time.
In early 2024, a jury found Codi's father, Cory Bigsby, guilty of second-degree murder and concealment of a body in connection to Codi's death. He was sentenced to 40 years for the murder charge and five years for concealment of a body in June.
However, to this day, Codi's body has never been found.
Sunday's event was meant to celebrate Codi's 7th birthday.
Not only did Sunday's event celebrate Codi's birthday, but it also praised the implementation of the CODI Alert which Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed in Spring 2024.
The CODI Alert is used by Virginia State Police, and it's aimed at finding missing and endangered children.
Delegate Cordoza, who represents Hampton, York and Poquoson counties in the Virginia General Assembly, said he helped search for the missing 4-year-old boy whose case inspired his role in creating the CODI Alert.
Del. Cordoza also organized Sunday's event at Fort Monroe.
Bigsby’s father reported the child missing from Hampton on January 31, 2022, but because the Hampton Police Department did not believe the child was abducted, there was no AMBER Alert issued to help find him.
Cordoza said the CODI Alert, which gained bi-partisan support from Virginia lawmakers, focuses on children left out of AMBER Alerts: missing children police believe are in danger, but not abducted.
In addition, at Sunday's celebration, people donated clothing which will be given to people living in homeless encampments that were discovered while searching for Codi.
