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Community creates garden in remembrance of missing teen Alexis Murphy

Posted at 7:01 PM, Oct 11, 2014
and last updated 2014-10-11 23:18:25-04

NELSON COUNTY, Va. - On a rainy morning in Nelson County, the weather did not seem to dampen the spirit of some grief-stricken families. Just beyond Nelson County High, the school Alexis Murphy attended when she disappeared last summer, a community garden was dedicated in her memory.

"It's just been wonderful seeing all of this," Alexis Murphy's mother said. "We came up and looked at a spot.  But I didn't know all the details in it or what they were going to do.  But now, that I see it.  It's beautiful."

Alexis Murphy disappeared last August. While someone was convicted of her abduction and murder, the teenager's body has not yet been found.

"Each and every day, I think about my daughter.  It's never going to stop.  It's stuff in the house that reminds me of her," Murphy's father said.

Organizers of Saturday’s dedication said it was part of the On the Road to Remember tour to raise awareness about  missing persons cases across the country, including those that haven’t received a large amount of media attention.

"I wish every case, every single case, would get the same amount of attention.  It's just.  It's not going to happen.  I mean that's just the way life is.  But that’s what our goal is,"  said Shawn White, CUE Center for Missing Persons.

Family members said they continue to hold out hope that Alexis will be found.

"I love her and miss her so much.  She's my heart.  She really is," her parents said.