A 14-year-old Indiana boy has been arrested in connection with the death of a 6-year-old girl, whose body was found hours after she was reported missing last week.
Little Grace Ross disappeared around 6:30 p.m. Friday in New Carlisle, a town of about 1861 about 15 miles west of South Bend.
Her body was discovered two hours later in a wooded area not far from where she went missing, reports the South Bend Tribune.
The St. The Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit said a 14-year-old suspect was arrested. His name and details of the charges he will face have not been released.
A candlelight vigil for Ross was scheduled for Sunday night in a park in New Carlisle. The girl’s family members also started a fundraiser on Facebook to help with their funeral expenses.
‘My lovely 6 year old niece Grace Ross passed away yesterday. She is now an angel in heaven, ‘Nicole Ross wrote on the fundraising page.
Neighbors in the small town were shocked by the tragedy.
“Just in front of your back door, you do not expect anything like this to ever happen in your area,” Kim Huston, who has lived in New Carlisle for 40 years, told local store WSBT.
“It’s a small town and there’s usually not much crime in the area,” she added.