Who was Grace Ross? Indiana girl, 6, found dead 2 hours after going missing, 14-year-old boy held as suspect
NEW CARLISLE, INDIANA: A 14-year-old Indiana boy has been arrested following the death of a six-year-old girl in New Carlisle, whose body was found hours after she was reported missing last week, according to authorities. The boy has not been named since he's a minor and is considered a suspect in the girl's death, according to a report by WSBT.
Little Grace Ross' body was discovered around 8.25 pm on Friday, March 12, less than two hours after she was reported missing by her family at 6.30 pm, in a wooded area not far from where she disappeared. New Carlisle is a town of about 1,861 some 15 miles west of South Bend. According to the South Bend Tribune, the investigation into Grace's death is open and active and an autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, March 14.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who was Grace Ross?
Grace's aunt Nicole Ross set up a fundraiser on Facebook for funeral expenses, which has raised over $21,000 so far. The fundraiser is aiming for $30,000. She describes her niece as "Princess Grace", for whom a candlelight vigil was held at Memorial Park in New Carlisle on Sunday, March 14, evening.
"My darling 6 year old niece Grace Ross passed away yesterday," the fundraiser stated. "She is now an angel in heaven." Michelle Ross, Grace's mother, said of her daughter at the vigil, "Grace was loved by everybody and she was friends with everybody", according to the South Bend Tribune. "She would go up to a stranger on the street and be like, 'Hi, I'm Grace and I'm six'."
Tara Bush, the principal of Olive Elementary School, which Grace attended said although there were many students who came and went, she knew Grace from day one. She said that her student's smile showed even on her mask. "You could tell she was smiling all the time," she said.
More than 200 people attended the vigil, placing candles, flowers and stuffed animals in a gazebo and on a park bench. A neighbor who has lived near the family for 40 years said everyone was shocked by Grace's death. "Right at your back door, you just don't anticipate anything like that ever happening in your area," Kim Huston told WSBT. Other neighbors living in the complex near the woods where the girl was found called the incident "disturbing."
"Very disturbing, very scary, nowadays with things going on you don't know what's going to happen. It can happen anywhere, at any time," Allie Sadler told CNN affiliate WBND. "I think it's been very suddenly quiet around here."