Alice Gross Mother And Sister In Charity Walk

Undertaking a 50 k challenge in aid of Missing People

The sister and mother of murdered Hanwell teenager, Alice Gross, are to walk 50k to raise money for a charity dear to their hearts.

Nina Gross and Rosalind Hodgkiss are embarking on The Thames River Ultra Challenge on September 12th for the charity Missing People.

The family has already helped raise £23,000 for the National Foundation For Youth Music as tribute to Alice who was a musically gifted 14-year-old.

Rosalind explains on her Just Giving page why they are doing it: ''Last September I was enrolled to do the Thames Path challenge - 100k from Putney to Henley, and I was training hard. I don't know if I would have completed the challenge, but certainly I would have given it my best shot. I never got the chance to try. On the 28th August my beautiful daughter, Alice, failed to come home from a walk. It was the middle of the afternoon, she was walking by the canal, locally, maybe 15 minutes from home, when she was murdered. Her body was found a month later and nothing will ever be the same again. I miss her and the pain of her loss has been unbearable. But Alice would not have wanted me to give up - she was always encouraging me, whether it was the walking or running. She would have been there to meet me at the end of the challenge, and she would have been proud of me, as I was always proud of her. While Alice was missing we were helped by so many people, and the charity Missing People, was one of the organisations that was invaluable. They were there with a poster and awareness campaign and with telephone and personal support.

''Please donate to this very worthy cause, so other families and missing people can get the support they need.

Convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns, 41, is believed to have killed Alice and left her body in the canal before committing suicide.

Nina says on her Just Giving Facebook page :

''My sister was a hugely talented individual - kind, funny, thoughtful and quirky. Alice went missing on August 28th 2014 and her body was found a month later, launching a murder investigation. As a family we have set up a charity fund for Youth Music, a cause true to Alice's heart as a musician, but I also want to raise money for Missing People. They provide a lifeline for someone who is missing and their families. The support they gave us during the time Alice was missing and since she was found has been invaluable.

''Missing People could not have saved Alice, but they could save others.''

Missing People offer a lifeline to the thousands who go missing each year - and those left behind.

April 17, 2015