ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Emotions were raw Friday during a candlelit vigil at an Orange County middle school after a teen was found dead late that afternoon.
Osceola County’s Sheriff’s office confirmed late Friday afternoon that 13-year-old Madeline Soto’s body was found in a wooded area.
Hundreds of community members, classmates, loved ones and more showed up to pay respects to Soto not long after the announcement was made.
“We pray in this atmosphere, we pray in this school, that you cover our young people,” chanted the crowd as people expressed their emotions through song and prayer.
“Now we will cry for those who cry,” Pastor Hector Gaby Melendez said. “We will mourn for those who mourn, and we will be able to give a message of hope.”
Soto was reported missing on Monday after Stephan Sterns — her mother’s boyfriend — reportedly dropped her off at school, though she never actually made it there, detectives explained.
Instead, detectives believe she was already dead by that time, and Sterns was later arrested on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material, the sheriff’s office announced. He remains the prime suspect in her disappearance.
Melendez is one of the community organizers who held the prayer vigil at Hunter’s Creek Middle School, where Soto attended.
Maddie’s friends and classmates had a chance to speak at the vigil.
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“What happened to her, she absolutely did not deserve, she was the sweetest person you’d ever meet in life,” one said.
Some people left messages, while others comforted one another.
“I’m a dad of a 15-year-old… It’s heartbreaking and saddening to kind of see this happening. Children are supposed to be protected. Unfortunately in this case, she was exposed,” one parent, Kevin Rickson, said.
Orange County’s superintendent in a statement said in part, “Counselors continue to be available for any student or staff member dealing with the news. I ask that you keep the entire Hunter’s Creek Middle School community in your prayers.”
Hunter’s Creek Middle’s SAFE Schools Coordinator Alejandro Camacho encouraged students and families to check in on one another during the vigil.
“Please report we are here to support you, not only the students but also the parents,” Alejandro Camacho said.
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