A DEVON man has undertaken a monumental challenge and has set off to hike 500 miles in memory of his mother who was shot and killed earlier this year on Father’s Day.

Alexander McKenzie, son of former Okehampton resident Mary Mabry (nee Vern), set off on his journey last Tuesday (August 8) to raise money to support his family following his mother’s tragic death.

To raise money, he has set up a GoFundMe page and hopes to raise £5,000 which will go towards covering the costs of his journey and supporting his stepfather financially as he deals with the loss of Mary.

He also hopes that he will raise enough money to cover the cost of a flight for his sister from the US to the UK so that he can be reunited with her to say goodbye to their mother together.

At the time of writing, Alexander had already raised £370.

As he walks, Alexander will be scattering Mary’s ashes in all the places around England that she would have loved to visit.

He said: “I was originally going to go from Okehampton Castle to Sherwood Forest — home of Robin Hood — which is nearly 500 miles there and back and spreading her ashes in historic places across central England.

“My mother’s killer died two days after her death and then everything went quiet. There was no justice, so I’m going to be her Robin Hood.”

Despite sore feet, Alexander has already travelled over 50 miles by foot with a 25kg bag on his back which contains everything he needs to camp between the bed stops he has arranged along his route.

Alexander has estimated that the journey will take over a month to complete but this has not put him off as he hopes the experience will prove to be cathartic while he grieves for his mother.

He added: “It’s been helping my mental health. I’ll miss my mum and cry every day but at least I can smile through.”

Fifty-seven-year-old Mary was shot and killed by her stepson on June 18 while sitting on the back porch of her home in America.

Her killer died in jail shortly after the police identified him.

Following her shocking death, Mary’s family and friends set up a fundraiser to help with the unexpected funeral costs.

Alexander, who lives in the UK, previously described his mum as ‘an angel’ and the ‘backbone’ of the family with others who knew her describing her as caring and loving.

He said: “She would make anyone smile, if they were in need she would help. She was an angel. She is going to be very much missed by me and a lot of other people.”

She has left behind her husband, three children, six grandchildren and many friends.

To donate to the “I Would Walk 500 Miles — Mercy for Mary” fundraising campaign, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/i-would-walk-500-milesmercy-for-mary.