On Tuesday, community members remembered the life of a Colorado girl who was killed on her way to school. In the meantime, police continue to search for her murderer.?
A woman visits a memorial for 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway at Chelsea Park near the youngster's home in Westminster, Colo. Jessica Ridgeway was abducted on her way to school and later found dead. Police have not made an arrest in the case.
AP Photo/Ed Andrieski
EnlargeMore than 2,000 family members, friends, neighbors and others gathered Tuesday to remember a 10-year-old suburban Denver girl who was abducted on her way to school and killed.
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As the public memorial for?Jessica?Ridgeway?was held, the search for her killer continued, with multiple agencies checking leads and asking for more tips.
Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk said at the evening service that investigators are working the case "tirelessly, diligently, and we are committed until we achieve justice for?Jessica."
The ceremony at Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada opened with a slideshow of pictures set to the?Jessica's?favorite songs, including "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. Many attendees wore the fifth-grader's favorite color, purple.
Pastor Rick Long of Grace Church in Arvada said?Jessica?had two fish, two frogs and a dog, and she loved Disney films. She enjoyed wearing green and blue makeup as part of her peewee cheerleading squad at a nearby high school, and she was looking forward to dressing up as a zombie lifeguard for Halloween.
Long added that community support has been lifting?Jessica's?family.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, whose son is?Jessica's?age, told those gathered that the?Ridgeways?are in Coloradans' thoughts.
"Every single person in this state is with the?Ridgeways?in every single way that we may be," Hickenlooper said.
Cases like this ? in which a child apparently is abducted and killed by a stranger ? are "the ones that shock entire communities and scare us all," said Robert Lowery, senior executive director of the missing children's division at the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
Michelle King, who lives in the neighborhood where?Jessica?disappeared, said she brought her 10-year-old daughter to the memorial partly as closure.
"It's a thing we have to talk to our children about," King said. "We've gotten a little relaxed about this."
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the investigation since they announced Friday that a body found on the edge of town belonged to?Jessica.
The girl was last seen alive walking down a quiet street in her modest Westminster neighborhood Oct. 5. Her school backpack was found three days later in Superior, another Denver suburb about 7 miles northwest of her home.
Jessica's?body was found Oct. 10, the same day authorities ruled out her parents as suspects in her disappearance. Her body was found along a remote road that locals say few knew about.
Authorities usually are reserved in what they say to the public, out of concern for causing unnecessary alarm. But they issued a statement last week advising residents to be suspicious of their bosses, friends and family members.
Authorities asked the public to keep an eye out for people exhibiting unusual behavior ? like leaving town unexpectedly, missing appointments, consuming unusual amounts of alcohol or changing their appearance. The idea was that the killer would not be able to act normally after committing the crime.
"They may have no suspects," said Kenneth Lanning, a retired FBI behavior analyst in Fredericksburg, Va., who is now a consultant specializing in crimes against children. "But likely at this point, they have so many suspects and now they're trying to sort through them."
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