OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A community in mourning came together Wednesday to remember the life of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
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The teen’s body was found on Friday in a rural area in St. Cloud after she had been reported missing just days earlier.
Friends, classmates and strangers all came together in a memorial service held at Peace Church in Hunters Creek. Which is just down the street from Hunters Creek Middle School, where Madeline went to school.
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“Friends, we have come together tonight in grief acknowledging the tragic loss of Madeline Soto,” said Pastor Jim Berlau of Peace Church.
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With songs and prayers, people in the church Wednesday supported one another during this tragic time.
“It’s like a hole is missing,” said Emanual De Jesus, one of Madeline’s classmates. “Everybody at school was sad.”
“Everybody was devastated,” said Adan Lucian, another one of Madeline’s classmates. “A lot of crying. Teachers crying, students crying.
Right now, the prime suspect in Madeline’s death, according to investigators, is her mother’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns.
“I was in shock,” said De Jesus. “It’s the first time I’ve heard something like that.”
The two middle schoolers walked over to the service on Wednesday to remember Madeline.
While it’s been a difficult time for so many, they’re hoping there will be justice for their classmate soon.
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“To get justice- there will still be holes in people’s hearts, but it might close it a bit more if there is justice,” said De Jesus.
“So tonight, we come together in our grief, but we also come together in our belief. Our belief that even in the face of the darkest tragedies, the light of our lord continues to shine, offering healing and hope,” said Pastor Berlau.
As of right now, no one has been charged in Madeline’s death.
If you have any information that can help investigators with this case, call Kissimmee Police.
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