New Carlisle, Indiana teen boy, 14, arrested in death of missing six year old girl, Grace Ross. Body recovered in nearby woods two hours after her family reported her missing.
A 14-year-old Indiana boy has been arrested in the death of six year old girl, Grace Ross, after her body was found in nearby woods just two hours after her parents reported her missing.
The boy, who wasn’t named because he’s a minor, is considered a suspect in the New Carlisle girl’s death, WSBT reported.
Grace ‘Gracie’ Ross, was found dead around 8:25pm on Friday, less than two hours after she was reported missing by her family at 6:30pm.
According to the South Bend Tribune, the investigation into Grace’s death is open and active and an autopsy was scheduled for Sunday.
A neighbor who has lived near the family for 40 years said everyone is shocked by Grace’s death.
A small town with little crime
‘Right at your back door, you just don’t anticipate anything like that ever happening in your area,’ Kim Huston told WSBT.
‘You don’t realize in a moment’s notice, somebody realizing that their child’s gone and then have to hear what had happened at such a young age, it’s horrific,’ she said.
Adding, ‘It’s a small town and we usually don’t have much crime in the area at all. I mean everybody kind of keeps to themselves and kids on their bicycles, playing at the park, going to the library.’
Grace’s aunt Nicole Ross set up a fundraiser on Facebook for funeral expenses, which has raised over $28,837 so far. The fundraiser is aiming for $32,452
‘My darling 6 year old niece Grace Ross passed away yesterday,’ the fundraiser stated. ‘She is now an angel in heaven.’
A candlelight vigil was held at Memorial Park in New Carlisle on Sunday evening.
‘Grace was loved by everybody and she was friends with everybody,’ Michelle Ross, Grace’s mother, said at the vigil, according to the South Bend Tribune.
Sunday night vigil
‘She would go up to a stranger on the street and be like, ‘Hi, I’m Grace and I’m six.”
‘Her smile even showed on her mask,’ said Tara Bush, the principal of the elementary school Grace attended. ‘You could tell she was smiling all the time.’
More than 200 people attended the vigil, placing candles, flowers, and stuffed animals in a gazebo and on a park bench.
Not immediately clear was the manner and cause of death or why the fourteen year old teen boy sought to kill the six year old girl.
