Santa's elves visit the Children's Memorial Tree in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Elves did it again!! They visited the South Lake Tahoe Children's Memorial Tree in the park at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Wildwood Avenue for the 13th straight year, leaving behind signs of Christmas with stockings and decorations.

There is a stocking at the tree for the over 250 children who are memorialized there.

The Children’s Memorial was established on Oct. 2, 1994, the culmination of a dream by Sue and Paul Hrbacek. The memorial honors the Hrbacek’s son, Rory, and his two friends, Sandy Haynes and Casey Wells, who died on Pioneer Trail on Feb. 2, 1991, when the car they were in skidded on black ice and hit a tree. The large pine that stopped the car was the essence of the memorial, which was created by South Shore artist Dan Jones. It has since been replaced due to deterioration over the years.