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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 6:22 p.m., Saturday, January 17, 2009

WE REMEMBER YOU, CYRUS
Mother, small group mark first anniversary of toddler's death

By John Windrow
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Nancy Chanco, mother of Cyrus Belt, prays during a sunset memorial today that marked a year to the day that the toddler was thrown to his death from the Miller Street overpass in Honolulu.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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A small group of people came together this evening at the Miller Street overpass to mark the day a year ago when little Cyrus Belt was thrown from the very spot to his death below on the H-1 freeway.

Nancy Chanco, Cyrus' mother, was among them.

The railing over which the toddler was thrown had been decorated before the vigil. During the gathering, people lit candles, placed stuffed animals and flowers there and stood in quiet groups talking.

At one point, Chanco leaned over the railing and prayed as friends and family looked on.

Chanco said she wants to be the best person she can be so she can join Cyrus in heaven.

Hunter Nueku, 11, of Wai'anae, had come to the gathering with her mother, Kim Burrows. Hunter said she was a relative of Cyrus.

"I'm sad about what happened to my cousin's brother, but I'm glad that I could be here," she said.

"Drugs are not good at all. Keep a close eye on your kids," she said.

Hunter said she had never known Cyrus, who was killed short of his 2nd birthday.

"I didn't get the chance," she said.

For more on this story, see tomorrow's Advertiser.

Reach John Windrow at jwindrow@honoluluadvertiser.com.