The first annual Hope for Riley “Search for a Cure to End Duchenne” Scavenger Hunt is Saturday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Thibodaux beginning at the Foundry on the Bayou.
Hope for Riley is a non-profit organization named for Riley Traigle, the 10-year-old son of Ray and Rhiannon Traigle.
Riley was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2008 at age five.
Rhiannon Traigle, Nicholls Alumna, coordinates fundraising events for Riley’s medical care and research to cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy through Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.
“We’ve been involved since shortly after we got his diagnosis,” Traigle said. “They are working on research and cures, but it’s only a possibility. We do the fundraising to try to help research efforts.”
The event will begin and end at the Foundry on the Bayou. The scavenger hunt starts at 1 p.m., but participants should arrive before 1 p.m. to fill out registration and liability forms.
Traigle said although the event will be fun, it is not intended for children. Some of the locations in the scavenger hunt will only allow 18 or older guests.
“I think there was the misconception that this is a kid’s event, but it’s for adults,” Traigle said. “It’s a lot of fun and something really different to do. It’s not something we really have in the area. We have teams of women, friends, couples and it’s a really entertaining event.”
Teams can consist of four to  sixpeople and registration is $25 a person.  Teams can be sponsored by a company or business to cover registration fees and team members can wear the business’s apparel or hand out information the day of the scavenger hunt.
All items and tasks can be completed in Thibodaux, but the scavenger hunt is not an on-foot event. Groups need to have their own transportation.
There are three components in the event including the item hunt, the idol hunt and the team theme.
The item hunt will include a list of 150 items and tasks. At 1 p.m., the teams will get into their vehicles and open the list.
“Anything on the list that can be an item they have to actually find or it may say a picture of members at a place or doing a certain activity,” Traigle said. “We didn’t hide the items or anything. The teams must bring the item or photograph back into us.”
All pictures must be turned in on the same camera or phone and each item is worth one point unless otherwise noted.
The idol is one of the items on the list that is worth 30 points towards the team’s overall score. When teams receive the item list, they will also receive a clue containing a riddle that will lead them to the next location, clue and riddle.
“There will be between five to ten places they will have to go to complete riddles and tasks,” Traigle said. “At the last location, if they make it all the way through, they will get the idol, which is worth 30 points on their score.”
The team theme is 15 additional points for dressing like the “team theme” assigned on the day of event.
“The teams register with a team name, but when they arrive we will assign them a randomized theme,” Traigle said. “For the extra points, they must come back with everyone dressed according to theme.”
The winning team with the highest total points will receive a cash prize, and the event will end with the live band, Back Roots.
“It’s fast-paced,” Traigle said. “You think that 6 hours is a lot of time, but it’s not. You’ve got to move really quickly to get it all done and get the most points.”
Riley receives medical treatment at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
“There’s a huge team of doctors who treat boys with Duchennes,” Traigle said. “When we’re raising money for his medical fund, it’s because we travel once or twice a year to Cincinnati for his medical care.”
Duchenne is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood affecting approximately one in every 3,500 boys. Riley and boys with Duchenne have a progressive loss of strength.
“Their muscles are wasting away, so by the time they’re 10 to 12 years old, they start to lose the ability to walk,” Traigle said. “By the time they’re in late teens, their heart and lungs start to fail.”
Young men with Duchenne typically do not live past their early twenties.
The early registration deadline was Monday, but teams are still welcome to register until the day of the event.
“My preference would be for them to just call, so we know that they’re coming and we can just fill out the registration form over the phone,” Traigle said.
Contact Traigle at (985) 713-1364 or [email protected] for the registration form and rules. Direct donations can also be made to Hope for Riley.