Goodbye, Little Tacoma Boy

23 year old Ryan Hade was killed a couple of weeks ago when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck near Tacoma, WA. Sad enough, but made even more so due to Hade's horrific past: in 1989, he was known to the general public as the Little Tacoma Boy, raped, mutilated and left for dead in a Tacoma Park. His abductor and would-be murderer, Earl Shriner, is still in prison after being sentenced to a 131-year prison term.

The News Tribune's Paul Sand remembers Hale:

The horror of the attack spurred nationwide media coverage, an outpouring
of community support for Hade and greater focus on sex offenders. Through it
all, his family kept his name from being publicly revealed.

In the years since the attack, Hade lived every day like there wouldn’t
be another, his family and friends said this week.

“He survived something that was extreme and consequently he lived his life extreme,” said his mother, Helen Harlow, who became a children’s rights
crusader after helping start the Tennis Shoe Brigade. “You cheat death once, you
figure you can cheat it just about any time you want.”

Hade's abduction spurred greater focus on sex offenders and prompted tougher laws. Would that there could have been a less extreme way to do so, but unfortunately, that's usually how it goes.