Community holds tearful vigil to remember slain Santa Cruz girl

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KTVU) -- An estimated 300 people gathered along a coastal lookout in Santa Cruz Tuesday night to mourn the death of a little girl killed in Santa Cruz, Madyson Middleton.

The crowd lined up along West Cliff Drive including many families with children. They lit candles and hugged each other.

Many people didn't know the 8-year-old girl, but they were still brought to tears, including Patrice Fernald who came with her husband and 9-year old son.

"Just to show our support to the community...it's just tough time," Fernald said as she choked back tears.

Another mother, Erin Ellis, came from Soquel with her 8-year-old daughter. She said it was her daughter that made her come to the vigil.

"She's been praying for her all day. It breaks my heart to see her so heartbroken to see another little girl hurt like that," said Ellis. "She just doesn't understand why. Nobody does. It's not right."

The evening tribute comes as the community just starts it's grieving process.

The grey fog along the Santa Cruz Coastline seemed fitting Tuesday evening for a beach community dealing with waves of emotions.

"The only way I can describe this community today is grief-stricken," said Analicia Cube, who founded the grassroots organization Take Back Santa Cruz. "Truly it's really a rough day for us."

Cube told KTVU she feels sick when she sees the missing-child flyers that were so feverishly handed out for a girl who will never come home.

"We are a strong, hopeful community and we have been on our knees before and we will stand up together again," said Cube.

She and others have made references to another tough loss for the community when, in 2013, two Santa Cruz Police officers were shot and killed.

"The last time I stood in front of a group like this and spoke was when my two officers were killed," Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said Monday night after announcing the girl's body had been found. "And it feels just like it did that night and it's terrible."

From police to parents, the little girl's death has had a ripple effect in the community.

"I just feel sick," said Shannon Edwards of Santa Cruz. "It's almost like it's universal. Like I'm a parent of that child. And I just want to cry every time I think about it."

One girl attending the vigil said she went to Santa Cruz High School with the boy arrested in the girl's death. She describes him as joyful, someone who liked to do tricks with his yo-yo, and who had few friends but was close with them.

One woman who identified herself to the crowd as a resident of the Tannery community said they are asking to grieve in private.