A retired Salina Police Officer and cancer survivor plans to walk across Kansas from Colorado to Missouri to raise funds for Cops for a Cure, a part of “Relay for Life” .

69-year-old Dean Bonawitz will begin his 400-mile walk on May 12th, and hopes to finish on June 12th, which will be a pace of about 15-miles per day. Bonawitz will be walking along U.S. 36 highway and will have limited support along the way from his wife Nancy, and friends.

In 2013 Bonawitz who spent 22-years with the Salina Police Department, and 4-years with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, raised $3,500 dollars for “Relay for Life” by walking along K-14 highway from Nebraska to Oklahoma.

Bonawitz said that he enjoyed meeting people along the walk and everyone he talked to either knew someone who battled cancer or had a family member with cancer. Bonawitz is a prostate cancer survivor, his wife Nancy is a breast cancer survivor.

Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski has pledged to donate a dollar a mile for the walk. If you would like to make a donation, send it to Cops for a Cure at 251 N. 10th Salina, Kansas 67401, or drop off donations at the Saline County Sheriff’s Office during regular business hours Monday-Friday.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office will keep track of the daily progress of Bonawitz on their website salinesheriff.org .