Aranda Briones case: Candlelight vigil held in honor of missing Moreno Valley teen
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A candlelight vigil was held Saturday evening for a Moreno Valley teenager who is presumed dead after going missing for more than a month.
Two men are facing murder charges in the death of 16-year-old Aranda Briones, who was remembered by family and friends who gathered at Moreno Valley Community Park.
Many of the attendees had participated in the searches that went on for weeks before police arrested the two brothers on suspicion of Aranda's killing.
The girl was reportedly last seen on Sunday, Jan. 13 near the park at Frederick Street and Cottonwood Avenue. Her family said the last person she was with was Owen Skyler Shover, 18, who claimed she was dropped off there to be with one of her friends and she was spotted getting into a gray four-door car. Sheriff's officials said a camera system that was reviewed destroys that timeline.
MORE: 2 brothers charged with murder of Moreno Valley teen Aranda Briones
Gary Anthony Shover, 21, has also been charged in the case.
Though Aranda is presumed deceased, some of her loved ones do not want to give up hope.
"We're trying to cope, you know, we take it day by day," Matthew Horstkotte, Aranda's uncle, said told ABC7. "I trust in God, you know. That's all you can do - keep the hope, the little small hope you've got. You just keep it.
"The community outreach is great. ... We're going to keep fighting until this is done," he added.
