A 14-year-old boy from Indiana was arrested over the weekend in connection with the death of a 6-year-old girl whose body was found in a wooded area less than two hours after his family first reported his disappearance.
Grace Ross was reported missing in the Chapman St. area of New Carlisle at around 6:30 pm Friday, the St. Joseph County Homicide Unit said in a press release. At 8:25 pm, she was found dead in a wooded area near Chapman.
The Homicide Unit in the Greater St. Joseph County area was called to the scene to investigate, and a 14-year-old boy has since been arrested. The suspect, whose name was not immediately released by authorities, “is making progress in the juvenile system,” the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office said in another statement to Fox News.
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An autopsy was carried out on Sunday, and prosecutors hope to provide an update on the case on Monday, Jessica McBrier, a spokesman for the St. Joseph County Public Prosecutor, told Fox News by telephone. So far, prosecutors have not announced specific charges against the 14-year-old and have released few details about the nature of Ross’s death.
The investigation remains open and active. Anyone with information should call the St. Joseph County Homicide Unit at 574-235-5009 or Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.
The girl’s aunt, Nicole Ross, organized a fundraising campaign on Facebook entitled “Princess Grace’s Memorial,” which raised more than $ 22,000 from a $ 25,000 goal on Monday morning.
“My dear 6-year-old niece Grace Ross passed away yesterday. She is now an angel in heaven. I am raising money to help your parents with funeral expenses, ”wrote Nicole Ross.
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More than 200 people, including many parents and children who played with Grace, gathered at Memorial Park on Sunday night for a candlelight vigil, while New Carlisle, a city of just 1,800 inhabitants located about 15 miles west of South Bend, suffers the tragic loss.
“Grace was loved by everyone and was friends with everyone,” Michelle Ross, the girl’s mother, told the crowd at the vigil, according to the South Bend Tribune. “She would approach a stranger on the street and say, ‘Hi, I’m Grace and I’m 6 years old'”
“It is not often that on the first day of school that I already meet a student because there are so many new faces coming,” Tara Bush, principal of Olive elementary school, told the newspaper. “But Grace, I’ve known her since the first day … Her smile even appeared on her mask. You could tell she was smiling all the time.”
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Kim Huston, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years, said New Carlisle was shocked by the crime, describing the midwestern city as a normally quiet and familiar place where children usually play outside.
“Right at your back door, you just don’t expect something like this to happen in your area,” Huston told the local WSBT station. “It’s a small town and we generally don’t have a lot of crime in the area. I mean, everyone kind of is alone and with the kids on their bikes, playing in the park, going to the library.”