Samantha's body was found in an industrial part of Compton behind a bush Monday morning.
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She spent the last several years under the care of her grandmother.
"We have to come together as a community and find out what happened to her, why she ended up like this," said Maria Villareal, a woman who works in the area and helped the family distribute fliers when the girl was missing.
"I was hoping to see them to give them a hug, because when I look at her it's like I'm looking at my daughter."
A relative said Samantha and her friend begged Samantha's grandmother to let her spend the night on Friday. That friend reportedly told her family she was spending the night at Samantha's.
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"I had contact with her best friend and she asked me if she had gone home that morning," said Victor Lopez, Samantha's cousin.
Candles now mark a memorial site in the same area where her body was found two days later.
Detectives have not made any arrests.
"As a mother I think it's a wake-up call for the parents here in Compton," said Villareal. "Especially for the girls. We need to be more careful."